Ustwo Games chair María Sayans wins Mobile Legend at Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2026

María Sayans won the Mobile Legend award at the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2026, presented during Gamescom week in Cologne. The award honours an industry professional who has delivered sustained success and made an outstanding contribution to the mobile games space.

The citation cites Sayans's long career and her impact at ustwo Games, the studio behind Monument Valley. Her leadership at ustwo since becoming CEO in 2019 is central to the recognition: she steered the studio through new projects and operational changes while keeping a focus on design-driven mobile experiences.

Career highlights relevant to the award

• Early career: Sayans began in management consulting and then spent more than a decade at Electronic Arts, working across major franchises and serving as a director of marketing.
• CCP Games: She later moved to CCP Games and held the role of chief customer officer.
• ustwo Games: Sayans took the top job at London-based ustwo in 2019. The studio is best known for Monument Valley, a mobile puzzle series that highlighted artistic design and spatial puzzles on mobile devices.
• Corporate change: Under Sayans, ustwo became a standalone B Corporation in August 2022, with an impact score cited as more than double that of ordinary businesses. The company introduced financial transparency, profit-sharing and employee ownership, reduced its carbon footprint, and linked charitable giving to its games.
• Industry role: Sayans is board chair of Ukie, the UK games trade body, which positions her to influence policy and industry strategy beyond her studio role.

The Mobile Legend award is given to a person who has combined career success with notable contribution to mobile games. In Sayans's case, the award points to a blend of creative stewardship (Monument Valley and related work), operational changes at ustwo (B Corp status, ownership and profit models), and sector-level engagement through Ukie.

Practical implications for studios and industry leaders

Where this sits in Sayans's career arc

The award frames Sayans's contribution to mobile as foundational even as her work has expanded into PC and console projects. The Mobile Legend recognition acknowledges that her impact on mobile games—through product choices, studio practices, and sector advocacy—remains a defining element of her leadership profile.

Look for how ustwo continues to balance design-led mobile projects with broader platform expansion, and how Ukie under Sayans's chairmanship engages with policy debates affecting mobile developers, funding models, and studio sustainability.