The Scottish Games Network (SGN) has been officially shortlisted for the Strategic Partner award at the 2026 MCV/Develop Awards. This nomination marks a significant milestone in our journey to transform SGN from a simple news platform into the primary ecosystem builder for the Scottish games industry.
However, the 2026 finalists represent a banner year for the entire country. It is incredibly encouraging to see so many Scottish games and businesses included across the categories, proving that the technical and creative excellence of our ecosystem is increasingly visible on the global stage.
A Strong Scottish Showing
Alongside our own nomination, several of our partners and allies have been recognised for their outstanding work:
- Hyper Luminal Games (Dundee): Their charming title Pine Hearts has secured nominations in two separate categories (accessibility and narrative innovation), highlighting the studio’s ability to blend high-quality design with emotional resonance.
- Pocket Sized Hands (Dundee): The team has been named a finalist in the Co-development and Indie Studio categories, a testament to their reputation as a world-class technical partner for global studios.
- Screen Burn Interactive (Glasgow): The studio behind the new Silent Hill: Townfall and the multi-award-winning Observation are also nominated in Indie Studio category.
- Code Wizards (Elgin): Nominated in the Ongoing Innovation of the Year category, the team – a long-standing contributor to SGN – continues to show that pioneering work is happening in every corner of Scotland, including the North.
- Johnson Carmichael (Nationwide): The accountancy firm, which is a long-standing supporter of the games ecosystem, has been nominated in the Best Financial Services Provider to the Games Industry category.
Building the National Infrastructure
For the last two years, our focus has been on moving the Scottish games sector into a new era of recognition, tailored support and cross-sectoral utility. This work reached a critical peak with the launch of Level Up: Scotland’s Games Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy designed to grow our sector into a £1 billion economic powerhouse by 2030.
The nomination also reflects the impact of Scottish Games Week (SGW), the incredible success of Hello World!, More Than Games, and the forthcoming Project Pathfinder, our initiatives to bridge the gap between games technology and the wider economy. By acting as the Honest Architect for the sector, I have worked to ensure that Scotland is no longer an invisible outlier, but a leading voice in the global games conversation.
A Perspective on the Nomination
“Being nominated in the Strategic Partner category is great recognition of the work I have been doing to build a more connected, collaborative and resilient games ecosystem in Scotland, said Brian Baglow, the founder & CEO of SGN. “But more importantly, seeing so many names of Scottish games and studios on the list is a win for the entire country. From the creative heart of Pine Hearts to the co-development brilliance of Pocket Sized Hands and the ongoing innovation of Screen Burn and Code Wizards, this year’s awards prove that our community-driven, data-led approach is working. The rest of the UK is watching what we are building here with great interest.”
The Strategic Partner Finalists
We are proud to see SGN listed alongside such a high calibre of finalists in our specific category:
- Scottish Games Network Ltd.
- Urban Ledgers Limited
- Ian Hamilton
- The Path
- Side + Razer
- Miai
- Mishcon de Reya LLP
- Heaven Media x Subnautica 2
Looking Ahead to the Ceremony
The winners of the MCV/Develop Awards 2026 will be announced at a gala ceremony in London. Regardless of the final result, the sheer density of Scottish talent represented this year demonstrates that our national strategy is bearing fruit. As we continue to push for the implementation of the Games Action Plan and the appointment of a Chief Games Officer, this recognition provides the necessary momentum to keep games at the top of the national economic agenda.
View the full list of finalists: MCV/Develop Awards 2026