Melissa Larsson

1. Graduated University twice - went to University with a scholarship to study a degree in Games Design then went to University again to do a CIM diploma in marketing that Square Enix sponsored (this required studying on top of working full time during the pandemic.)

2. Over 6 years full time marketing experience specialising in Japanese video games.

3. Over 10 years part time experience in video games in general.

4. Melissa gets to work on her favourite video games of all time every day as a job - has been at Square Enix over 4 years (her favourite series are Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and NieR)

5. In Spring 2021, Melissa led the U.K. marketing campaign for NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... and managed to hit number one in the U.K. games charts across all three available platforms (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC)

6. In Summer 2021, Melissa successfully utilised her friends and contacts across other industries and executed really fun partnerships for NEO: The World Ends with You with Funimation U.K. and Tofu Cute/Dreamy Bows.

7. Although now retired, Melissa was the lead ambassador for the mental health group at Square Enix. Ironically she quit because of her mental health (sometimes quitting is a personal win).

8. Melissa has started long term therapy again.

9. As well as marketing for Square Enix, NIS America and Idea Factory, Melissa also has previous experience doing PR, community/social media, and influencer relations. She has also literally spent time in a warehouse physically packing collectors editions for games and sending them out to customers.

Melissa wants people to recognise the unsung heroes who work their butts off and make the games industry wonderful - shoutout to Ria Patel, George Hind, Niralee Modha, Sandra Chau, Natalie Gausden, Lucy Hale, Kat Welsford, Daniela Pietrosanu, Lee Bradley, Chris Arnold (work dad), Timea Edvi (work mum), Mayumi O’Shea, Nathan Mills, Shez Sheikh, Yaw Glover, Jas Marwaha, Jack Tompkins, Ash Harvey, and Jammerz.
Editors note: Melissa asked to include this and I agree all these people are great and not just because I'm on the list within The List (listception)