Chaos Theory

UKIE’s Dr Jo Twist on the need for cool heads during turbulent times for the UK game industry

You wouldn’t say it’s an easy time to be the figurehead of a trade association whose mandate is to ensure the UK is “the best place in the world to make and sell games”. In fact, UKIE CEO Jo Twist has had a particularly busy last 12 months or so. Among the issues she’s been tackling lately are the WHO classifying ‘gaming disorder’ as a mental health condition (a development Twist says has been “highly contested by scientific experts around the world”) and the Gambling Commission scrutinising the business models and mechanics of modern games – chiefly loot boxes, but also skins betting in games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. On the eve of the London Games Festival, and ahead of her keynote address at this year’s Develop in July, Twist doesn’t want to get unduly concerned about any of this. “Generally, I want to make sure people understand that this stuff is all part and parcel of [videogames] becoming a really important part of the culture and people’s lives.”