Supporting London's games industry

The Mayor of London supports London’s games industry as part of his Creative Economy Growth Programme. Yoyu Li was selected to be part of Games London’s Accelerator, which supports new, London-based video game studio founders. 

About Yoyu Li

A UK-based game developer with over 15 years of experience in the game industry, Yoyu has more than earned her creative stripes. Starting her career as a board game publisher, she has soared to heights anew, making a name for herself as an independent (‘indie’) video game developer in more recent years.  

On a typical day, Yoyu opts for Twitch over TikTok, and a good gaming PC over Xbox.  A traditionalist at heart, she cites old-timers like Japan’s Nintendo, as one of many of her gaming first-loves. Born in Chengdu, she’s left footprints in Beijing, Shanghai and Edinburgh. Of all the cities she has lived in around the world however, London is where she calls home.   

So, why London? “There are places with better weather" Yoyu laughs “but few are like London, with so many talented people in the creative industry.”  

Working with Games London and beyond

With the help of Games London Accelerator – a ground-breaking programme funded by The Mayor of London that has helped to support both her career and the video games sector at large – Yoyu notes greater strides being made to embed equality, diversity and inclusion in the industry. “There is more awareness of the issues around representation in the games industry in London, whether it’s gender, race or other matters. Most teams are willing to walk the extra mile to ensure they give an equal opportunity to everyone and find the right talent for the role.” 

“Games London has been running programmes like Ensemble and Game Changer, which are valuable opportunities for professionals from diverse backgrounds to raise their voices in the industry.” 

As a professional in the early days of her career, she had positive experiences working on her first released video game title, ‘Reigns: Three Kingdoms’. “Shout out to Nerial” she says. “In our core development team, we actually had more women than men. Plus, a couple of people from other underrepresented backgrounds. It was our own personal take on a much-loved mobile narrative game.” 

During the pandemic, she led a studio team of eight, formed solely online. In a way that would later feel somewhat full circle, the studio, Infinite Whys, went on to publish its debut game in July 2023. “We only met in-person for the first time, after spending almost a year making a game together, at the London Games Festival 2022” she explains. “‘Whispers in the West’ made it to Official Selection that year, and all the positive feedback we got from publishers gave us the confidence to carry on with the project.” 

“‘Whispers in the West’ is an online co-op murder mystery game that supports one to four players” she continues, adding “and it’s not an exaggeration to say that it would not exist without London Games Festival and the support of Games London.” Reflecting on Infinite Why’s time on the Accelerator programme, she says “it gave us an all-around overview of everything we needed to know to run a successful games business.” 

Looking to the future of the games industry

Yoyu’s hopes and dreams for the future of her industry span far and wide. “I'd like to see more diverse game experiences. Fewer shooters” she laughs before adding, “and more investment going into smaller, independent game developers because we need it. Instead of concentrating on a small cluster of bigger-budget games, innovation can and should be driven by indie developers.” On ones to watch, she humbly adds: “Take note of Out of the Bit. They’re a London-based family-run studio that, at a time when everyone switches to remote working, insists on keeping an office where a lovely, tight-knit group of developers can work together face-to-face.” 

“Games are fun and so is making them. My advice to any emerging creative trying to break into the industry would be to enjoy the process, do what you are passionate about and have fun.”