“There’s always work to be done”: Limit Break’s mentorship program for under-represented groups returns for 2026

The 2026 Limit Break mentorship program has opened applications to participants from the UK and Irish games industry.

Founded by 1TK Games’ Anisa Sanusi in 2019, Limit Break has supported over 5,000 participants from more than 400 UK games companies, making it the UK’s largest mentorship program for marginalised people working in the games industry.

Now in its eighth year, the 2026 program launches on April 27 and runs for six months, culminating in November. Applications are open on the Limit Break website until midnight on April 20. Limit Break is open to anyone in the UK and Ireland currently working in the games industry or seeking to enter it, and who “identify as part of a marginalised or underrepresented gender, orientation or ethnicity group, in addition to neurodiverse people and those with disabilities.”

The 2026 cohort will experience new initiatives: a virtual onboarding series (‘Fresher’s Week’), increased in-person networking through Limit Break Locals, and a dedicated track for those interested in starting a games business.

“Whenever we launch a new year, we are really grateful to have the opportunity and support to continue our work. We rely so much on industry passion and corporate sponsorship, and we never take that for granted,” Limit Break program manager and Electric Saint community manager Jonas Gawe tells GamesIndustry.biz.

“Limit Break helps our members build long-lasting connections and grow, develop and be inspired as part of a dynamic and supportive community. It is very hard to face challenges alone. Having a mentor can give you someone you can speak to honestly and openly about your career challenges, while Limit Break ensures all our members also have a wider support network that is empathetic and ready to help.​”

The non-profit enterprise has faced the same challenges finding funding as so many in the games industry, and had to “adapt and evolve” amid rising economic uncertainty. .​

“In 2025, when funding was incredibly difficult to secure, we had to scale down the program to focus on the core priorities,” Gawe explains. “We moved our operations nearly entirely online and had to significantly reduce the scope of our services and events. While this meant sacrificing some of our hallmark in-person gatherings, it actually enabled us to create a streamlined program accessible to everyone across the UK, regardless of their financial or physical capabilities.”

“Despite some pretty challenging circumstances, we were still able to deliver our CPD-accredited training, our diverse lineup of roundtables and events, and the core mentorship program. This is also a testament to the impact of Limit Break’s other key strength – the commitment and passion of the Limit Break Committee, which is made up of volunteers from across the industry who give their time and skills to run the program every year.”

Gawe says Limit Break advises its mentors to “speak openly and honestly about their perspectives and experiences within the industry.”

“We provide resources to help mentors give support across a wide variety of topics and contexts, and our community spaces promote discussion and connections with people from across the industry,” he says. “We are very conscious of the challenges being faced by so many people at the moment, and are always looking for additional opportunities to add value for our members. That could be through events centred around interview skills and portfolio creation, to our new track for people who are looking to pivot and set up their own games business, with advice on topics from funding and legal guidance through to accounting.”

As the program has progressed, Gawe says it has seen greater demand for mentorship in specific areas, such as 3D modelling and animation, as well as a recent uptick from those with voice-acting and content-creation backgrounds.

“Limit Break exists to support people from all disciplines and specialisms in their career journey, but every year we do see greater demand for mentorship in some areas than others,” he says. “We look to address this across the application period in three phases. We spread the word that applications are open, and we monitor the disciplines of incoming mentors and mentees. Once we identify the disciplines we need more support in, we make a callout for mentors in those disciplines.

“We would love to see more of our members looking for leadership mentoring. It’s a common misconception that Limit Break is only to help people early in their careers, but it’s for people at all stages. Some of our best success stories have come from experienced game developers, looking to take a big step up in their career or start their own studio.”

“Some of our best success stories have come from experienced game developers, looking to take a big step up in their career”

As for how Limit Break aims to support the future of the UK games sector, Gawe says the goal is for “the industry to be full of studios and games businesses thriving with a diverse set of leaders at the helm. Professionals from marginalised backgrounds still enter the games industry with little support and limited visibility of anyone like them among industry leaders. There’s always work to be done.

“As a non-profit, volunteer-led organisation, we have to ensure that our scale and resources are aligned. We aim to run a resource-efficient, focused program, and we don’t take our funding or support for granted. When we have scope to scale up, our first priority will always be to look at what improvements we can make to deliver more content and value for our mentors and mentees, consistently aiming to make the Limit Break Mentorship experience the best it can be.”