Kirsten-Lee Naidoo | External Investment

Can you tell me more about what you do and how you came into the industry?

Landfall has recently started investing in indie games at a small scale so I scout for new games to fund and support the developers we've invested in during their development cycles. I also look for new opportunities and partnerships for Landfall and our existing games (so I do general business development as well).

I studied game development at university but there weren't many jobs for game developers in South Africa when I graduated so I took on work as a project manager planning game jams and other events for indie developers. Following this, largely due to the pandemic and some of the management skills I picked up, I was able to get a remote internship at Robot Teddy. At Robot Teddy I learned everything I know about business development and got to work on really successful games like Among Us. I up-skilled a lot during that time and eventually became the Head of Account Management up until I accepted my current position at Landfall.

What advice would you give women wanting to do what you do in the games industry?

My advice is to find and connect with women who are like you or in similar positions as you. A lot of my growth in this industry was motivated and catalyzed by the women I worked with. Having a support system where you can ask questions or get help when you need it is a huge asset in this industry.