Michael French MBE is Head of Games London and Festival Director for London Games Festival. Games London is the Mayor of London-backed initiative to support and grow the video games industry in London – its work includes the delivery of the London Games Festival, an annual cultural celebration of interactive entertainment across the city, and numerous business development accelerators for founders and games studios. French joined Film London to establish Games London in 2015; the programme has gone on to generate over £100m in terms of investment and sales for London games businesses, while the festival is now the UK’s largest video games event. He was awarded an MBE for his services to the games industry in the King’s New Year Honours List 2026. Prior to Games London he was a journalist writing about video games for a variety of trade and consumer publications.