Galway’s central position in the Irish games industry was reaffirmed as game developers from across Ireland gathered in the City for the 6th annual FÍS Games Summit, while Galway gamers proved the big winners at the IMIRT Awards. Discover all about it below...
The summit, recognised as one of the most important events for the Irish games industry, was held at the Radisson Red Hotel on Friday 24th April. Hosted by Galway-based Ardán, the summit saw international speakers address issues of creativity, design, equality, representation, and the challenges posed by AI, while Galway game developers, Spooky Doorway, scooped the coveted Game Of The Year Award for The Séance of Blake Manner.
above: Sam Redfern and Kirsty Halloran (Psychic Software)
A gothic mystery game set in 19th-century Ireland, The Séance of Blake Manner, has enjoyed enormous critical acclaim and been enthusiastically received by players. As Spooky Doorway CEO, Paul Conway, said, “it has raised the profile of our studio”.
In his keynote speech to the Summit, Conway also said Irish game studios and developers have something unique to offer through Irish culture. “We wanted to make Irish video games. We didn't just want to make video games made in Ireland. We wanted video games about Irish stories,” he said. “Our culture is unique. It's special. We know we have stories to tell there. There’s hidden gems that the rest of the world hasn't seen, unmined depths. Our history has everything we wanted to put into a game - Irish mythology or folklore, themes of generational guilt, loss and regret, the effects of colonialism.”
Echoing the Summit’s theme of the importance of representation and diversity, Spooky Doorway also broke new ground in The Séance of Blake Manor through the character of Domhnall Ó Finn. “He is an Irish Traveller character, and as far as we know, he's the first Irish Traveller in a video game that is voiced by an Irish Traveller, " said Mr Conway. “For the international characters in the game, we spoke with cultural consultants relative to each background to help us portray their cultures and religions more accurately and respectfully, and that really deepened their stories.”
Such detail and dedication were rewarded during the IMIRT Awards. Held each year at the FÍS Games Summit, they celebrate the best of Irish game development and creativity on both sides of the border. As well as Game of the Year, Spooky Doorway also took home Best Game Design and was Runner-up in the Best Narrative and Best Game Audio categories.
above: John Romero and Maezza Romero Braithwaite
There was further recognition for Galway’s pivotal role in gaming when Galway-based Alanna Kelly, founder of the Galway Game Jam, won the Community Hero award, an all-Ireland recognition of an individual's contribution to the gaming community. “Galway Game Jam has really helped build up the game development community, and it's grown from strength to strength every year,” said Ms Kelly. “The most important thing about what we can do is that it's the community that makes it - people turning up, coming to game jams and building it up from there.”
Galway game developers dominated the IMIRT Awards with Kirsty Halloran and Sam Redfern of Galway-based Psychic Software winning Best Storytelling and Best Technical achievement for The Necromancer’s Tale; Enigma Studios’ Jamie Gavin taking Most Anticipated Game for TÖLT; and comedian Steve Bennet earning a Runner-Up in the Analogue Game category for ‘Spansion Packet - Dungeons and Naggins.
above: Alanna Kelly (Galway Game Jam Co-Founder and Imirt Awards Community Hero Winner)
The calibre of speakers at FÍS 2026 reflected the respect in which the event is held, with guests this year being acclaimed game developer Nic Tringali; Anna Brandberg (Lead UX Designer: ‘Dune: Awakening’, ‘Metal: Hellsinger’); the award winning Gareth Damian Martin, best known for the games In Other Waters and Citizen Sleeper); and Sybil Collas (Vice Chair for the European Executive Agency for Education Culture, co-founder of French collective Radi).
The importance of the event to the Irish Game developer community was underlined by Ardán CEO Alan Duggan, who told the audience that by attending the Summit, they were “choosing to invest in yourself, this community and in our industry, and potentially you'll find collaborators, you'll find conspirators, and people you can depend on.”
All photos by Andrew Downes / Xposure
Main photo of Paul Conway, Treasa McCabe, Dave McCabe (Spooky Doorway).
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