Supercell's Maya Hofree and UKIE's Nick Poole discuss how the industry is facing up to change

• Supercell’s Maya Hofree and Ukie’s Nick Poole discuss current challenges and future opportunities in the UK and wider games market.
• Gain more industry insight at Pocket Gamer Connects London on January 19th to 20th, 2026.

Over the past 40 years, the UK’s video games and interactive entertainment sector has developed into a national and global success story, which is valued at $11 billion.

But while the headlines often come from home-grown titles such as Grand Theft Auto 6, Sea of Thieves and Golf Clash, the UK is equally as strong in terms of finance, business development services, and as a location for international startups.

Ahead of Pocket Gamer Connects London on January 19th and 20th, 2026, we spoke with a selection of expert speakers sharing their games industry knowledge at the conference.

The players are the boss

Supercell general manager of Hay Day, Maya Hofree, explains that the Helsinki-headquartered company recently opened its first UK office in London.

“Located at the heart of the city, the office is also at the heart of Supercell: we’re home to all sorts of teams and people across new and existing games," she says.

Regarded as one of the world’s most successful game developers, Supercell has offices in San Francisco, Seoul, and Shanghai, in addition to its locations in Helsinki and London. With titles like Hay Day, Clash of Clans, Boom Beach, Clash Royale, Brawl Stars, and Squad Busters in its repertoire, the company now has “several teams working on creating the next innovation".

Despite its global success, like all other games companies, Supercell has had to navigate recent years’ quickly changing sentiments in player expectations and broader market challenges. 

Based on her vast experience, Hofree says that releasing and scaling a new game is tough, with the biggest challenge being player expectations. But that also presents a key opportunity.

Reflecting on industry trends, Hofree adds: “Players today are more engaged, discerning, and vocal than ever. They expect authenticity, innovation, and emotional connection that goes beyond gameplay. They’re investing their most valuable resource, which is time.

“This is where creativity and design truly shine. In the end, the players are the boss - they guide us, challenge us, and push us to keep improving. Innovation is thriving, and the integration of AI tools is unlocking new levels of creativity and efficiency that were once unimaginable.”

Changing industry

Nick Poole, the CEO at UK trade body UKIE, also identifies this change, calling it “a cyclical shift in how people engage with games".

More broadly, he points out the impact of the underlying economics of the games industry, adding that “the drivers that saw us through the last decade aren’t going to see us through the next".

UKIE works with the UK Government to promote the interests of the industry in the hope of “encouraging better-informed policy and keeping the UK competitive as a place to make games”.

Proving to be an increasingly difficult task due to over-saturation, one of the biggest challenges, according to Poole, is “the rising cost of development, the increasing complexity of player acquisition and the difficulty of breaking into well-established verticals like live service games".

Building the new, not the past

Like Hofree, he emphasises that current challenges - “particularly for the skilled and dedicated people who have lost their jobs during the transition” - are contrasted by huge opportunities such as “adopting new approaches and technologies".

For this to happen, however, he believes the industry needs to change its fundamental perspective.

“So long as we gauge the potential of the industry by the remarkable performance of the last 10 to 15 years, we’ll be stuck looking backwards when in reality we ought to be deploying all of our energy on building the new," he says.

“I’d love to see the industry coming to terms with the shift that we’ve been through and starting to use new metrics for our future success.” 

When asked the same question, Hofree says she’d love to see a real change in game advertising and more particularly an end to inappropriate or offensive content.

“It doesn’t just damage individual titles, it impacts how the entire industry is perceived." 

Large industry conferences like Pocket Gamer Connects London are a great platform to instigate discussions about branding strategies and game advertising with industry peers. Hofree says the key value of the event is connection. 

“Meeting other developers, exchanging ideas, sharing both successes and challenges, those conversations often spark the most unexpected inspiration," she explains. "It’s a reminder that, even in a highly competitive industry, we’re all part of a broader creative community built on collaboration and passion.”

Wrapping up, she adds that the event is also an excellent opportunity to reach out about career opportunities (such as the Career Zone at Pocket Gamer Connects London), highlighting that Supercell is currently “hiring for multiple roles".

Poole, on his end, sees PGC London as a valuable event to share insight and gather support from the whole games ecosystem, something he says is required in order to “secure supportive policy, better investment and new opportunities for the industry".

Learn from over 290 expert speakers, including Hofree and Poole, at Pocket Gamer Connects London on January 19th to 20th, 2026. Book your ticket today.