On 17 April, the UK and global video games industries will gather to celebrate yet another monumental year at the 2026 BAFTA Games Awards, held at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre.
The story of last year that’ll be reflected is arguably one of perseverance. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads going into the evening with an impressive 12 nominations, an incredible feat for a AA project made by a tenacious, passionate group of just 33 core developers. That’s followed by nine nominations for Dispatch, a title largely overlooked by US-based The Game Awards. That too is a game that wouldn’t be here without the grit and determination of the individuals at Adhoc Studios who persevered through both a temporary shelving of the title and pulled funding.
These are merely two examples, but it’s with these in mind that I feel entirely confident that BAFTA has found the perfect host for the evening in Elz The Witch. Elz’s own story is one that exemplifies what’s possible when drive is interwoven with a deep sense of passion. It was at the age of eight that Elz first picked up a controller and developed a kinship towards gaming. Over the years, she’s shared that adoration for the art form with millions of fans via YouTube who quickly fell in love with the content creator’s championing of beloved franchises like The Sims and Fortnite.
In recent years, Elz The Witch has gone on to become one of the industry’s most successful broadcasters, working with both BBC and Sky, all whilst celebrating the importance of women in gaming and without ever relinquishing the passion that started it all. Ahead of hosting next month’s ceremony, GAMINGbible had the opportunity to catch up with Elz who’s very much still in the midst of processing this career high.
“I Would Never Even Imagine That This Would Be A Possibility”
“If I look back at when I first started my YouTube channel, which is about seven and a half years ago now, I would never even imagine that this would be a possibility to be in a room full of everyone that I respect and that has helped contribute so much to my life and the industry,” Elz told me.
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“I feel an immense amount of pressure but I think with that and with the nerves and the anxiety, it just motivates me to do the best job possible because ultimately, I want it to be a good show for my own benefit but for everyone else as well. It’s such a great night to celebrate all of the best in games, especially British games as well, so I’m nervous but very excited.”
Elz was actually on holiday when she first got the call about the gig, admitting that she “took a while to really sit down” and digest it.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” she said. “Who out of everyone in this country they could have chosen that’s involved in the industry, why am I the one that they’ve picked? I guess it’s imposter syndrome. [...] My brain is still kind of stuck at that girl who uploaded her first YouTube video and can’t quite comprehend that I’m now going to be on this stage. [...] I know that BAFTA have trusted me to do this and I am honoured with the reason that they’ve trusted me to do it as well.”
It’s early days for Elz and the team prepping the night’s various monologues and segues but the message of the evening reflects precisely what I said earlier. The 2026 BAFTA Games Awards are set to be a celebration of all facets of the industry from developers to content creators and beyond, intended to inspire those with the spark inside them to one day be a part of it.
“We’re quite early in the [planning] stages at the moment, but if there was one sort of theme that we want to portray - especially getting me involved to host it - is, from my perspective, to show digital creators and people that do content online and even people behind the scenes that you can literally come from sitting in your living room talking to a wall, essentially, and make a career out of it,” Elz began.
“Because I think that with the games industry, it is really just what you make of it, and if you love games and you want to get involved in it like I did, you can. I came from an IT background which didn’t really intertwine with my YouTube career, but I just felt so much love for video games. And as a woman, as a girl in the late 90s, who was always told, ‘You’re a girl. Why are you gaming?’, that sort of gave me motivation.”
Elz Want To Inspire The Next Generation of Digital Creators
She continued, “If there’s a message, it’s to reach out to those, you know, digital creators to show that you can come from an untraditional background and then be standing on a stage full of the top people in the games industry and what I view as more traditional media, and you can breakthrough into that. [...] Obviously, being a woman as well, I want to inspire other females coming up that you can achieve what you want to achieve.”
It’s perhaps apt that Elz brought up women in gaming as we’re at an interesting crossroads. In some instances, it feels as if the walls have been brought down that previously excluded us from the industry. While gaming is still male-dominated, there are plenty of incredible women working in games development, marketing, media, performance, and more. And yet, the mere presence of a central female character can still incite ‘backlash’ in the year 2026 from certain crowds.
“It’s a tough one,” Elz pondered. “I think that, particularly from the time period that I’ve been involved in the industry, I would say there’s been so much development in terms of marketing of games. If I look back to when I was younger, it was very much more targeted at the male audience whereas now I think it’s more inclusive. There’s a game for everyone.”
“I always say everyone’s a gamer in one respect. And I think that there’s definitely more opportunities for women in gaming, be that on camera or behind the camera. There are lots of women in this industry that help keep it alive really. On the flip side, I think there’s still so much that needs to be done. Whenever there’s a new character brought up or introduced to an audience, there’s always so much opinion on it and so much speculation.”
She continued, “And I think that sometimes, it tends to focus on the wrong thing like their appearance rather than their storyline and their impact as a character. We’re moving in the right direction but I think there’s always so much more room and support that women should receive in the games industry.”
I was eager to unpack more about the growing relationship between content creators and both studios and industry bodies like BAFTA with Elz who is “really excited” at how that dynamic is being embraced.
“A lot of things are online now, especially marketing,” she told me. “The best form of marketing is getting a really good game - and not just big releases, it’s indie games too - and getting streamers on board and building a community from there. I think there’s something so special about that organic love for games which comes through via digital creators.”
“I used to think as a YouTuber that more traditional media or people in the games industry would frown upon it. I think that there’s definitely been a shift, particularly with me hosting the awards and getting lots more creators to be involved in the show as well. It’s showing that these two worlds are combining and embracing each other. I think it’s a really exciting time and I’m so happy to be involved.”
I think of Dispatch as a key example of that merging relationship. The stellar cast featured a number of individuals who began life as content creators, including Seán McLoughlin, Alanah Pearce, and Joel Haver. I asked Elz if she had any intention or desire to step inside a particular gaming franchise one day.
Elz Has Her Sights Set on a GTA VI Cameo
“I just want to be in The Sims movie,” she exclaimed. “That’s all I want to do. It’s one of my dreams. I would love to voice a character in a game. I’m not even an actor, but just to sort of be there and be in a game would be the coolest thing. With The Sims that could be quite lighthearted and fun.”
“GTA VI,” she posed an alternative. “Being on the radio in that game would be such a cool thing for me because I’m such a big fan of their soundtracks. I love the games but for me, I love the music and the incorporation and intertwining of music in video games.”
“I also love supporting indie games so to just be in like a really quirky, probably British-owned studio, indie game, I would just love to be a part of that.”
When it comes to the moments that led Elz to where she is now, two key factors stood out.
“I always say this to anyone thinking of starting a YouTube channel,” she began. “The first three or four months are the hardest because it’s just trial and error. You can sometimes feel like you’re talking to yourself because no one’s watching your videos, but the first real milestone I would say was E3 in 2019. I was invited five months into my YouTube career. [...] I think it was fate because my favourite game is Final Fantasy 7 and it was the demo for Final Fantasy 7 Remake you could partake in.”
“I came out of that demo and I just broke down in tears because I couldn’t quite believe that me starting a YouTube channel had taken me this far both from a personal perspective of even getting on a plane for 11 hours but to go to a festival as big as E3. It really just motivated me to come back to the UK and achieve whatever.”
“The second I would say was doing the FIFA eWorld Cup Final in 2019,” Elz added. “I presented on stage for one minute and it was the first time I’d actually presented. [...] If I hadn’t have done that one minute, I probably wouldn’t be hosting the BAFTA Games Awards.”
One thing that I’ve certainly noticed covering the awards circuit in recent years is just how often indie titles and AAs compete with AAAs. It used to be a rare occurrence and now, it’s a joy to see those three areas of the industry competing on a level playing field year after year. I wondered whether Elz had noticed that shift as someone involved in content creation as people seem to be far more open these days when it comes to the games they’ll try.
“Particularly on livestreaming, people love seeing a wide variety and I do love when a game that you wouldn’t expect just kind of takes over,” Elz said. “I remember with Peak, it was such a collaborative sort of game and one that just sort of came from nowhere. I really enjoyed watching people play that game and also Chained Together. Those games make for such good entertainment and seeing creators collaborate on them is fun.”
Elz Is Well And Truly Obsessed With Pokopia, Just Like The Rest of Us
For some quickfire fun, Elz would bring back The Simpsons: Hit & Run if given the chance, admitting she loves the “chaos of it”, while Pokémon Pokopia is among her current obsessions.
“I’ve been playing it so much that outside of my flat, they’ve randomly redone the garden and put a palm tree and some rocks and I sent a photo to my friend and said, ‘This is giving Pokopia when you need to raise your environment level.’ That and Phasmophobia.”
You can tune into the 2026 BAFTA Games Awards on Friday 17 April via BAFTA’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
Topics: Interview, Features, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, PC