UK law firm launches indie dev mentorship program

Harbottle & Lewis, a UK-based law firm, has announced the Indie Games Collective. This is a 12-month program(me) designed to help indie game devs on their journey. The program is free and will include training sessions that cover everything from fundraising to contracts to IP to regulation. Harbottle & Lewis, by the way, have already weighed in on the use of AI over at GamesIndustry.biz.

As an aside: I will say, having been part of setting up an independent journalism site, something like this would have been indescribably helpful.

The legal hurdles of creating a game are many. Just naming your game is a minefield. Monster Energy sued Ubisoft over their game Gods and Monsters, resulting in the name being changed to the ever-so catchy Immortals Fenyx Rising. Within the last few years, they’ve even gone after indie devs too. Hell, No Man’s Sky had to settle a three-year-long lawsuit with Sky News over using the word “sky” in the title.

More recently, you can look at the drama-filled legal happenings behind the scenes of Subnautica 2 to see just how messy things can get. Whether it’s navigating acquisition or just getting a game out there, having the sort of guidance a program(me) like the Indie Games Collective offers could prove invaluable to any indie dev.

Applications to the program are open until Jan. 23, 2026.