“Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.” – Oprah Winfrey

 Kirsten-Lee Naidoo

Category

Arts & Entertainment
 

Organisation / Company

Landfall Games

 

Position

Head of publishing

 

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Profile

Kirsten-Lee Naidoo’s journey from Chatsworth to the global gaming stage is a story of talent, determina- tion and creative flair. A scholarship to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in 2008 became the turning point that launched her on a new path. After matriculating, she chose to study video game development at Wits University — a decision that blended her love for programming, drawing and animation. She now holds an honours degree in game development. Kirsten- Lee, 27, is head of publishing at Landfall Games, where she manages business development, oversees external partners, and runs backend operations for major gaming platforms like PlayStation and Nintendo. She also scouts for new talent and over- sees teams that Landfall invests in. She serves on the selection committee at the WINGS fund, helping to decide which independent games receive financial support. Kirsten-Lee has been a speaker at global events such as SXSW Sydney, Playtopia and the Game Developers Conference. She was listed among the 100 outstanding women in games by She Plays Games in 2022, and has received funding and bursaries from institutions like FedEx and Nestlé. She fundraises for Playtopia, a local indie gaming festival.

Qualifications

Honours in Game Development, University of the Witwatersrand

Achievements

  • 2025: Game Developers Conference (GDC) speaker and Independent Games Festival (IDF) WINGS Award judge
  • 2024: SXSW Sydney speaker
  • 2023: Playtopia speaker
  • 2022: Named on the She Plays Games list of 100 outstanding women in the games industry
  • 2019: A MAZE. Berlin speaker, Indie Train Jam Diversity funding recipient
  • 2018: FedEx bursary recipient, Nestlé bursary recipient and a CATHSSETA learnership recipient
  • Previous: Golden Key Honour Society member; winning delegation in the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) Environmental Sustainability Project 

Mentors

Oprah is a huge inspiration. Receiving a scholarship to attend her school changed the trajectory of my life