How inclusive leadership can shape the next generation of games

• The recipients of Pocket Gamer Connects’ Aurora UK Awards share their industry views.
• “We need to champion the fact that inclusion improves creative and commercial outcomes”, says Estaris.

At Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026, we highlighted the women and non-binary professionals shortlisted for the Aurora UK Awards, based on nominations from across the industry.

The winners were announced live on stage, giving recognition and visibility to the names significantly impacting the UK games industry.

Following the event, we caught up with some of them to gain deeper insight into their work and visions. In this edition, we spoke to Jennifer Estaris, former game director of Monument Valley 3 at ustwo games and founder of Estaris Works.

PocketGamer: How do you use your work role to promote inclusion for women and non-binary professionals?

Jennifer Estaris: I try to design inclusion into both process and culture. Practically, that means advocating for diverse hiring panels, mentoring emerging women and non-binary creatives, and making space for different leadership styles.

Creatively, I push for and consult on games that push for joyful connection with the world and widen who gets to imagine futures. Inclusion isn’t only about who is in the room; it’s about whose values shape decisions, whose stories are treated as meaningful, and what kinds of success are rewarded.

What inspired you to pursue a career in games?

I’ve always been drawn to systems - economic, narrative, social and to how people feel inside them. Games sit at that intersection. They’re one of the few mediums where you don’t just observe change, you participate in it.

My path into games wasn’t linear. I studied economics and literature, earned an MFA in creative writing, worked as a software developer, and moonlighted as a jazz musician. That winding route taught me that play, creativity, and improv are powerful tools for meaning-making. Games became the place where all those threads could meet.

What leadership principles have most shaped your career in games?

I design games grounded in the Filipino concept of kapwa: the belief that play can reconnect us to each other, to place, and to shared futures. Those aspects feed into my leadership principles of care, connection, and courage, especially to explore themes that aren’t always easy. 

Strong leadership creates psychological safety while also holding a clear, creative vision. That balance allows teams to do their best work. I also value listening deeply and leading with curiosity.

What systemic barriers still exist for women in games, and how can they be addressed?

Many barriers are subtle rather than explicit for women and other underrepresented genders: uneven access to leadership opportunities, higher scrutiny of our decisions, burnout from emotional labour, and a narrow definition of what “good leadership” looks like.

Addressing these issues requires structural change, such as transparent promotion paths, better support for caregivers, and leadership accountability, but also cultural change. We need to value different ways of leading, storytelling, and problem-solving, and to recognise, internalise, and champion the fact that inclusion improves creative and commercial outcomes, not just fairness.

What one piece of advice would you give to women entering the industry today?

Learn the craft deeply, and define your values early.

Your skills will get you into rooms; your values will guide you once you’re in there. Be curious about the impact you want to have, and don’t underestimate the power of empathy and imagination. 

Which projects or achievements best reflect your vision for the future of games?

Writer Cyril Dion said, “If we want to build a new society, first, we need to imagine it.” The climate crisis is a crisis of the imagination. Game creators can “imagine+” as we imagine alongside the player, thanks to interactivity.

My vision for the future includes more games that combine curiosity, sustainable futures, and action. These are the new narratives we need.

Directing the award-winning Monument Valley III, a story about flood disaster recovery, and Monument Valley 2’s The Lost Forest, which petitions for forest conservation, are central to that vision. My work on Subway Surfers also showed that even massively scaled games can explore sustainability and care through live operations and events.

My GDC talk about Dinner Table Democracy further reflects where I believe games are heading. I am thankful for support from organisations and the individuals in Playing for the Planet, and the IGDA Climate SIG.

Find more interviews with the shortlisted women and non-binary people in our Aurora series. Coming up next for the Aurora Awards is the European edition at PG Connects Barcelona 2026, taking place June 15th and 16th.

In addition, the PG Connects Summit San Francisco 2026 takes place on March 9.