Contest aims to get games design to next level

The UK's games industry is thought to be worth around £4.7 billion

A new competition has been launched to find the next Minecraft or Grand Theft Auto.

Games designers are being invited to submit their best original games for awards that will be presented during the Northampton Film Festival.

A panel of judges from the industry will chose the winners.

The festival's director said she wanted to create something unique for its fifth birthday.

With the computer game industry now worth over £4.7 billion, designing a successful game can be the route to making a fortune.

Being paid to test the games would be a dream come true for millions of teenagers.

But someone has to have the idea for a new game that stands out among the competition.

The new awards, being presented as part of the film festival, will be given for original concepts that have been turned into functional games with a least one playable level.

Becky Carrier, from Northampton Film Festival, said Northampton had a huge community of games designers

Becky Carrier, who founded the festival, said: "There is clearly a huge community of people interested in creating games in Northampton.

"With games technology and film being closer than ever, we wanted to offer something unique for the festival's 5th birthday and something that would support closer collaboration between creatives in Northants, the Midlands and beyond."

The awards are being offered in partnership with the Northampton Games Network, which was formed after a popular networking event at the Performing Room. a community arts charity in the town.

David Nicholls, the programme leader for game design at the University of Northampton, said: "After we ran the first Northampton Games Network meet up earlier this year, we realised how much games talent is based locally.

"This will be a great opportunity to show how creatively diverse the Midlands are."

The awards will be presented at the Royal Theatre in Northampton

There are two categories - under 21 and 21-and-over - and submissions have to be in by 30 November.

Winners will be announced at the Northampton Film Festival 2026 awards ceremony at the Royal Theatre on 8 March.

Northampton Film Festival 2026 is being launched at Northampton Market Square on 6 September.