Larian Studio’s Tara Saunders confirmed to continue as BAFTA Games committee chair

Larian Games studio head Tara Saunders is continuing as chair of the BAFTA Games committee, the arts charity has confirmed.

BAFTA confirmed the new and returning chairs and deputy chairs of its film, games, and television committees in a press release on September 24, 2025.

Alongside Saunders, Des Gayle, founder of Altered Gene, is continuing in his role as deputy chair of the BAFTA Games committee.

The committee supports BAFTA in delivering its “strategic charitable mission” and plays a vital role in the oversight and steering of the BAFTA Game Awards, including providing consultation on the awards’ rulebook.

Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz in August, Emma Baehr, BAFTA’s executive director of awards and content, referred to the committee as a “sounding board” when it comes to ensuring the award guidelines remain current and reflective of what’s happening in the industry.

Alongside Saunders and Gayle, committee members include Adele Cutting (former senior audio director at EA and head of Soundcuts), Alyx Jones (founder of Silver Script Games), Anna Mansi (director of video games and certification at BFI), Katherine Bidwell (co-founder of State of Play Games), and Charu Desodt (studio director at Interior/Night ).

“We are so grateful to our sector committee members, who are comprised of people from across the screen industries who generously volunteer their time and expertise,” said Sara Putt, chair of BAFTA.

“Our committees play a central role in ensuring BAFTA’s activities, including our world-leading awards, support and spotlight the screen industries and the talented people within them.”

Earlier this month, Luke Hebblethwaite, the head of games at BAFTA, announced on LinkedIn that he was leaving the charity after three-and-a-half years, “due to some recent internal changes,” which meant his role is “being discontinued.”

“While BAFTA’s work in games will continue, for my part it’s been a tremendous privilege to have had a role where I’ve been able to champion and advocate for the industry, to recognise and celebrate brilliant games and to support the many incredibly talented people who make them,” Hebblethwaite said in the post.

“It’s been inspiring to work with such a dedicated, hard-working and passionate team of people at BAFTA (both past and present) and I feel incredibly proud of the things we’ve achieved during my tenure.”