Celia Hodent

Celia Hodent has enjoyed a successful career in the gaming industry, famed for her former role as the Director of User Experience for Epic Games (Fortnite). A talented Game UX Consultant, Celia is an expert in applying cognitive science and psychology to the improvement of products, systems and video games. Working with a wide range of tech companies and videogame studios worldwide, Celia’s CV holds names such as Ubisoft and LucasArts, as well as work on the renowned game Fortnite. Founder and Chair of the Game UX Summit, book Celia Hodent today to increase understanding of user experience, cognitive science, playful learning (gamification), implicit biases, inclusion, and the metaverse.

Working in-depth with companies to ensure that their products will provide an engaging experience for users, Celia has over a decade of experience in the development of user experience. After obtaining her PhD in Psychology and before entering the vibrant videogame industry, Celia worked as a Product Developer and Pedagogical Quality Manager for Vtech. During her time with Vtech, Celia was responsible for the development of educational games from Disney Pixar VFlash Cars to the Disney Princess Laptop.

Celia joined Ubisoft HQ in 2008 as Strategic Innovation Lab Manager, a think tank reporting to Ubisoft's CEO. Studying UX insights for Ubisoft games, Celia later joined the Ubisoft Montreal studio (home to the Assassin's Creed franchise) as Playtest Project Manager, working on Rainbow 6 franchise and Driver San Francisco. In 2012, Celia joined LucasArts in San Francisco as a UX Lead, developing the UX strategy for the studio and working on Star Wars games and casual games for iOS. In 2013, Celia joined Epic Games and later became Director of User Experience for the studio. During her time at Epic Celia worked as UX Director on Fortnite and worked on other games (e.g. Battle Breakers, Paragon, Spyjinx), as well as on Unreal Engine 4.

With 4 published books (including the best-selling and critically acclaimed book The Gamer's Brain) and a highly decorated career to her name in user experience, Celia is now booked as a speaker for a range of corporate events to share her expertise in gaming and UX. Using her decade of experience, Celia delivers tailored workshops and speeches covering topics such as UX strategy, cognitive science, ethics in the game industry, inclusion in tech and video games, playful learning and gamification. Holding a PhD in psychology, Celia knows the ins and outs of user psychology and leads UX consultancy to improve video games and tech products worldwide. Also a best-selling author and member of the Foresight Committee at CNIL, book Celia Hodent today for an engaging and informed speech on everything from user experience, gaming and technology to the metaverse and the future of tech.