“It’s not about the next big hit – it’s more important to be focused, resilient, and capable of learning”: Hannah Upton on investing in the games industry

Games businesses follow a very different growth journey to most other creative companies. They can scale globally from small teams, build passionate communities that last for years, and can turn early creative ideas into long-lasting IP. But for founders, translating that creative ambition into something investors understand – without compromising their identity – is one of the hardest parts of growth.

In this interview, Creative UK Investment Manager Hannah Upton talks about her route into investment, why games are such a distinctive creative sector, and what she looks for when backing studios. From building sustainable stepping stones to choosing the right funding partners, she shares practical insights for games founders thinking about their next stage of growth.

Tell us a bit about yourself, your background, and your interests. 

I’ve had a pretty non-linear path into investment, which definitely shapes how I work today. I started out in accountancy, which gave me a solid financial grounding, before moving into early-stage equity investing, where understanding a company’s potential is really important. 

I’ve also worked inside SMEs and startups in finance teams, which has been really valuable. It means I’ve seen things from both the business and investor sides, especially at that growth stage where companies are making big, often difficult decisions. 

I joined Creative UK two years ago as an analyst and moved into investment management, focusing on games and the wider creative sectors. Before all of that though, I was actually a dental nurse, which taught me how to stay calm under pressure and work closely with people. That’s been very useful in investment! 

Outside of work, I love film, music and live gigs, and I read and write a lot. I’d love to write a book one day and add something of my own to the culture. 

What first excited you about working for Creative UK Investments, and what does your role involve day to day? 

What first drew me to Creative UK was the ethos. I’d previously worked at an investment firm where the founders genuinely cared about the sector they were backing and really saw their role as supporting an ecosystem, not just writing cheques. I knew I wanted to work somewhere with that same mindset, and Creative UK is a team with deep sector knowledge and a real commitment to the creative industries. 

The idea of investment as a partnership was a big draw for me too. Because we’re deploying debt, we’re not trying to force every business into becoming a unicorn. We’re focused on helping strong creative companies grow sustainably, while still retaining ownership of what makes them special. 

Day to day, my role is a mix of analysis and conversations, but a lot of it is about translation. I help founders turn creative vision into commercial reality, and I help investment committees understand why creative risk can actually be a strength rather than a weakness. It’s about bridging that gap in a way that genuinely supports long-term growth. 

What makes games distinct from other creative sectors when it comes to investment? 

Games are one of the few creative sectors that really do combine hit-driven IP with software-style economics. Game IP is interactive rather than passive. A successful game doesn’t just launch and move on. Players can spend hundreds or even thousands of hours with it, and active communities often become central to its success. 

More and more modern games operate as live, continuously monetised platforms. You see recurring revenue through subscriptions or ongoing content, and some studios start to look a bit like SaaS businesses blended with traditional media. That combination is pretty unusual, and it changes how you think about building and funding a studio. 

You’re also often investing well before there’s a finished product, so a lot of the value comes from the team itself – their creative judgement, technical skills and experience, and their ability to build and operate a game over time. 

What’s really exciting is that small teams can still build something with huge global reach. At the same time, there are challenges that are quite specific to games. Unlike film and TV, where commissioning structures are often clearer, game studios are usually juggling funding, publishing, marketing and live operations all at once. From an investment perspective, understanding how a team builds and runs a game can be just as important as the idea itself. 

How do you assess potential in a game studio? Is it about more than just finding the next big title? 

For me, it’s not about trying to predict the next big hit – it’s more important to have a focused team that is resilient and capable of learning. 

It almost always comes back to the team, and whether what they’re doing feels repeatable. We look at whether the team has shipped before, what they’ve learned from past projects, and whether they have a clear sense of who they are as a studio. 

The strongest games studios really understand their audience, and they know how to reach them. They also tend to have a realistic view of what they can and can’t control – whether they’re working with publishers, what risks they’re taking on, and how they’ve thought about managing those risks. 

Setbacks and course corrections are almost unavoidable in games. Studios that can survive a miss and come back stronger are often more investable than those betting everything on a single release. 

How should games founders balance creative vision with commercial sustainability?  

The most successful studios I’ve seen tend to build stepping stones. They work on projects that express their creativity while also generating revenue, learning from each release and building momentum at a pace that makes sense for them. 

I don’t think it’s really about compromising your vision. If anything, sustainability is what gives you creative freedom over time. Once a studio has a bit more financial stability, it can actually afford to take bigger creative risks. The goal isn’t to play it safe forever, but to make choices that mean you’re still around to take those bigger swings later on. 

A strong studio identity underpins all of this. Knowing what kind of company you’re building, and what you stand for creatively, puts you in a much stronger position when it comes to launching more ambitious projects.

What advice would you give to a games founder preparing to raise investment for the first time? 

The most investable games companies are clear about the business they’re building, not just what game they’re making.  

First-time founders often focus heavily on the creative vision, which is completely understandable, but investors also want to see how you think about risk, timelines and sustainability. It’s worth spending time articulating why your team is the right one to build this game, how you’ll use the money, and what progress looks like after the round. You don’t need to have everything figured out, but you do need to show that you understand the process of building and operating a game. 

Most importantly, treat fundraising as the start of a long-term relationship. In games especially, things rarely go exactly to plan. Choosing investors who understand the sector, respect the creative process and will be supportive when challenges come up can make a huge difference. The right partner brings far more than just capital – they help you stay in the game for the long haul. 

To speak to Hannah about your business and your investment needs, click here: Get in Touch

For further information on Creative Growth Finance and to find out if your business is eligible, visit www.wearecreative.uk/support/creative-enterprise/investment/creativegrowthfinance