About Game Dev Local

Game Dev Local is where the UK’s indie game developers come to connect, grow, and thrive.

We’re a community built by devs, for devs, spanning over 4,500 members across the country and growing every day.

Whether you’re working solo in your bedroom, building a studio from scratch, or just exploring your first prototype, you’ll find your people here.

We host everything from curated meetups and hands-on workshops to unforgettable events like GDLX, the UK’s premier indie games expo, and Arcadia, our underground club night-meets-game-showcase, complete with DJs, dancing, and live mystery theatre.

Game Dev Local has also been the #1 Global Game Jam site in the UK for five years running, making it the go-to jam destination for thousands of developers looking to experiment, collaborate, and push their creative boundaries.

We believe game development should be sustainable, collaborative, and full of joy, even when it’s hard. That’s why we created GDL Biz: a studio support arm offering practical business consultancy, mentorship, and workshops to help early-stage and scaling studios avoid common pitfalls and build foundations that last.

Our community is powered by shared values: radical inclusivity, creative freedom, practical support, and a deep belief that everyone deserves a place in the games industry—not just those with funding or connections.

From London to Brighton, and beyond we’re growing local chapters that plug directly into our national mission: to reduce the failure rate of indie studios, and lift up the people making strange, beautiful, meaningful games.

This is Game Dev Local.

Make Connections, Build Games.

About Our Founder

Stuart De Ville is the force behind Game Dev Local, part community builder, part chaos merchant, all-in on helping indie game developers succeed.

In 2020, Stuart co-founded what would become Game Dev Local alongside Jade Leamcharaskul and Adam Clewes-Boyne.

United by a deep love for the UK indie scene and a shared frustration with how isolated, burnt-out, and unsupported many devs felt, they set out to build something better, a space where creativity, community, and actual care could thrive.

What began as a local meetup has since evolved into the UK’s largest indie game development community.

Under Stuart’s leadership, GDL has become known for its bold events, real talk, and unwavering support for the underdogs of the industry.

Stuart’s no stranger to the indie grind.

As the founder of Fribbly Games, he runs a studio of his own, and knows first-hand the late nights, the financial strain, the creative highs, and the crushing uncertainty that comes with building something from scratch.

That experience fuels his empathy, sharpens his advice, and keeps GDL grounded in the real-world needs of developers.

He also heads up GDL Biz, the consultancy wing of Game Dev Local, offering tailored support to help early-stage studios avoid the pitfalls that kill 9 out of 10 indie teams.

Whether he's mentoring new founders, helping someone navigate a pitch, or staging his own live-action murder mystery, Stuart leads with fire, humour, and radical belief in people.

Raised in a working-class home and self-made through creativity, chaos, and community, Stuart knows what it means to build without a safety net. Game Dev Local is that safety net now, and he's still right here, helping weave it together, one dev at a time.