Thepastyearhasseensomestrugglesandsurprises.Theongoingpandemichasbolsteredtalksaboutpermanentremoteworkoptionsandunionization.Reportsoftoxicityandmisconducthaveforcedtheindustrytotakeahardlookatbehaviorsthathaverunrampantfortoolong.It’satimeoftransition—butifthere’sonethingweknowaboutgamedevelopers,it’sthatthey’realwaysuptothechallenge.

Weaskedover2,700gamedevelopersabouttheirwork,andtheirindustryasawhole.Wefounddevelopersareworkingtoimproveaccessibilityingames;they’remixedontheviabilityofSteamDeck;andtheyhavestrongfeelingsonbringingcryptocurrencyornon-fungibletokens(NFTs)intothegamingsphere.

The2022StateoftheGameIndustrysurveyisthetenthinanongoingseriesofyearlyreportsthatofferinsightintotheshapeoftheindustry,markingadecadeofgrowthandchange.Thankstoallwhoparticipatedfortheirthoughtsandperspectives.

PlayStation5,XboxSeriesX/Svirtuallyneckandneck

forcurrentgamedevelopment

Eachyear,weaskgamedeveloperswhatplatformsthey’recurrentlydeveloping

gamesfor,andwhichplatformsthey’llbedevelopingtheirnextgamesfor.

Onceagain,PChasemergedasthemost-popularplatformforcurrentgamesin

development(63%)aswellasnext(58%)games.Butwhenitcomestoconsoles,

PlayStation5istheleadingplatformforcurrent-andnext-gamedevelopment.

Whichplatform(s)areyoudevelopingyourcurrentprojectfor?(Chooseallthatapply)

PC63%

PlayStation531%

Android30%

iOS30%

XboxSeriesX/S29%

XboxOne(orOneX)22%

PlayStation4(or4Pro)21%

NintendoSwitch20%

Mac18%

Webbrowser10%

VRHeadsets10%

Linux7%

GoogleStadia3%

3%

XboxProjectxCloud

ARHeadsets2%

TabletopGames2%

PlayStationNow1%

AmazonLuna1%

VirtualTabletop1%

Playdate0%

Other3%

N/A-Notinvolvedindevelopment11%

StateoftheGameIndustry20222

ThenumberofrespondentscurrentlymakinggamesforPlayStation5(31%)

edgedoutXboxSeriesX/S(29%),whileonthemobilefront,bothiOSandAndroid

garnered30%each.Forfuturegames,thedifferencesweremorepronounced

betweenPlayStation5(31%)andAndroid(28%)andiOS(27%),alongwithXbox

SeriesX/S(27%).NintendoSwitchslightlyincreasedbetween2021and2022,with

20%ofrespondentscurrentlydevelopinggamesfortheplatform.

Whichplatform(s)willyoubedevelopingyournextprojectfor?(Chooseallthatapply)

PC58%

PlayStation531%

Android28%

XboxSeriesX/S27%

iOS27%

NintendoSwitch19%

XboxOne(orOneX)17%

Mac17%

PlayStation4(or4Pro)14%

VRHeadsets11%

Webbrowser9%

Linux8%

ARHeadsets4%

XboxProjectxCloud4%

GoogleStadia3%

PlayStationNow

TabletopGames

VirtualTabletop

2%

2%

1%

AmazonLuna1%

Playdate1%

Other5%

N/A-Notinvolvedindevelopment18%

StateoftheGameIndustry20223

PCleadsoverallinterestasPS5leadsconsoles

Whichplatform(s)mostinterestyouasadeveloperrightnow?(Chooseallthatapply)

PC62%

PlayStation543%

NintendoSwitch39%

XboxSeriesX/S30%

iOS25%

Android25%

VRHeadsets24%

Mac14%

ARHeadsets13%

XboxOne(orOneX)12%

Webbrowser11%

PlayStation4(or4Pro)10%

TabletopGames8%

XboxProjectxCloud8%

Linux7%

GoogleStadia5%

Playdate4%

VirtualTabletop4%

PlayStationNow4%

AmazonLuna2%

N/A-Notinvolvedindevelopment7%

Other3%

StateoftheGameIndustry20224

Theplatformsthatdevelopersweremostinterestedinmakinggamesforheld

steadythisyear.PCstayedontop,increasingfrom58%to62%thisyear.Inthe

subsequentspots,wehavePlayStation5(43%),NintendoSwitch(39%),XboxSeries

X/S(30%),andiOSandAndroid(25%each).InterestinVRheadsetsdecreased

slightly(24%),alongwithaugmentedrealityheadsets(13%).Acoupleofthenewest

players—Playdate(4%),AmazonLuna(2%),andVirtualTabletopplatformslike

Roll20(4%)—don’tseemtobecatchingonquiteyet.

ALookBackat10YearsofSOTI

Thisisthe10thiterationofGDC’sStateoftheGameIndustry(SOTI)report,so

wedecidedtotakeaglanceatgameplatformsovertheyears—toseewhattrends

havesurged,whichplatformshavefallen,andwhathassurprisedusthemostover

thepastdecade.Hereareafewhighlights:

PCIstheHouseFavorite

Gamedevelopershavetheirstarperformer.PChasbecometheconsistenttop

platformovertheyears,risingfrom48%ofcurrentgamedevelopmentin2013to

63%in2022.

MobileTookthePlunge

Backin2013,mobilewasthehottrendingaming,with55%ofdevelopersmaking

gamesforphonesandothermobiledevices.Now?It’sdownbyalmosthalffrom

itsheyday,sittingat30%in2022.

PlayStationBeatsXbox

Thewaroftheplatformshasawinner:It’sPlayStation.Overthepast10yearsof

SOTIsurveys,thenumberofdevelopersmakingPlayStationgameshasbeatenthe

numberforXboxgamesineveryyear,exceptone—2014,theyearafterXboxOne

andPlayStation4cameout.

HasVRHitItsPeak?

Virtualrealitygamedevelopmentspikedinthemid2010s,risingfrom7%ofgames

in2015to24%justtwoyearslater.Butthatnumberhasfallenalmostalltheway

back,sittingat10%forthepasttwoyears.Facebook’sMetaandPlayStationVR2

couldchangethings.

TheBiggestSurprise

WhenGDCstartedtheSOTIreportin2013,Nintendowasstillafewyearsaway

fromthestellarsuccessoftheSwitch.Thepercentageofdevelopersmakinggames

for3DSorWiiUwereinthelowsingledigits.Butthen,rumorsofNintendo’snext-

genconsolestartedtosurface.TheNintendoSwitchturnedthingsaround,with

20%ofdevelopersnowmakinggamesfortheplatformin2022.

StateoftheGameIndustry20225

SteamDeckmetwithbothexcitementanduncertainty

FollowingthefailureoftheSteamMachine(akatheSteamBox),ValveSoftwareis

takingacuefromNintendoSwitchwiththeSteamDeck—aportable,Linux-based

handheld-dockablehybridsetforreleaseinearly2022.Weaskedrespondentswhether

theyfelttheSteamDeckwouldbeaviablegameplatforminthelongrun.Theresults

weremixed:36%saidyes,17%saidno,and47%wereunsure.

DoyouthinkValveSoftware’sSteamDeckwillbeaviablegameplatforminthelongterm?

Yes36%

No17%

Unsure47%

VoxPop:WhatareyourthoughtsontheSteamDeckandwhatdoyouthinkits

impactwillbe?

“Thisisaproductgamershavewantedforalongtime.Nowthatthehardwareis

possibleatareasonableprice—andithasValve’ssupport—itwillbeasuccess.”

“TheSteamDeckwillbehugeforsmallerindependentdeveloperswhostruggleto

gettheirgamesonSwitchandotherhandhelddevices.”

“It’snifty,butnotrevolutionary.”

I’mskepticalofitsability

tofindanaudiencebeyonddevotedhardwareearly-adopters.”

“HavingownedaSteamLink,IamfamiliarwithValve’sissuesinhardwaredevelopmentandservice.WhileIthinkthattheSteamDeckhaspotential,Idon’tthinkitwilldeliveranythingrevolutionarythatisn’tcurrentlybeingdeliveredbytheSwitch.Controllersareincredibly

difficulttodesignandproduce,andIdon’tseeValvesuddenlycomingupwithacompellingandaccessiblemodelthatworksforanyonebeyondanichemarketthatistechnologyfocused.It’sashamebecauseIwouldlovetoseeSteambecomemoreaccessible.AndassomeonewhoislookingtoreplacetheirgamingPC,thepropositionwasappealinguntilIstartedtodigintothedetails.”

“

“I’mskepticalofitsabilitytofindanaudiencebeyonddevotedhardware

early-adopters.”

“I’mpre-orderedandinterestedinseeingwhattheexperienceislike.”

“Idon’tknowwhatthatis.”

StateoftheGameIndustry20226

PlayStationVR2capturesinterest,whileOculusQuest

leadstheway

Thefutureofvirtualandaugmentedrealitygaminghasbeeninfluxforthepast

fewyears,and2022isnodifferent.Accordingtooursurvey,42%ofrespondents

saidtheywere(orhavebeen)involvedinVR/ARgamedevelopment.That’sup

from38%lastyear.

However,thatincreaseindevelopersdoesn’tappeartobeimpactingthenumber

ofgamesindevelopment.Weaskedthe42%offolkswho’veworkedonVR/AR

gameswhatplatformstheywerecurrentlydevelopinggamesfor—56%ofthem

said“None.”That’sanincreasefrom41%ofdeveloperslastyear.Inaddition,52%

likewisesaid“None”whenaskedabouttheVR/ARplatformstheywerereleasing

theirnextgameon,upfrom38%lastyear.

WhichVR/ARplatform(s)areyoucurrentlydevelopingfor?(Chooseallthatapply)

OculusQuest27%

OculusRift13%

HTCVIVE12%

ValveIndex8%

iOSphone/tabletusingARKit7%

PlayStationVR6%

PlayStationVR25%

GoogleARCore4%

WindowsMixedRealityHeadsets4%

HPReverb2%

MagicLeapOne2%

ViveFlow1%

Other5%

None56%

StateoftheGameIndustry20227

TheOculusQuestwirelessheadsetremainedthetopVR/ARplatformin2022,with27%ofdeveloperscurrentlymakinggamesonthatplatformand28%planningtheirnextgame forit.ButenthusiasmforOculusQuestmightbewaning,as41%ofdeveloperssaidtheplatformiscurrentlyofinteresttothem—downfrom52%in2021.Thatsaid,Facebook’s“Meta”rebrandingandmetaversefocuscouldchangethingsforOculusQuestin2023

Note:ThissurveywasconductedpriortotheMetarebrandannouncement.

ThenewestarrivalonthesceneisthePlayStationVR2,PlayStation’snext-gen

VRconsole,setforreleasesometimein2022.Inoursurvey,25%ofdeveloperssaid

thatwasofmostinteresttothemamongVRplatforms,and10%saidtheirnext

gamewouldbereleasedonPlayStationVR2.Incomparison,7%ofdeveloperswere

planningtheirnextgamesfortheoriginalPlayStationVR.

WhichVR/ARplatform(s)mostinterestyouasadeveloperrightnow?(Chooseallthatapply)

OculusQuest41%

PlayStationVR225%

ValveIndex23%

HTCVIVE19%

OculusRift18%

iOSphone/tabletusingARKit13%

WindowsMixedRealityHeadsets11%

PlayStationVR10%

GoogleARCore9%

ViveFlow8%

MagicLeapOne7%

HPReverb3%

Other5%

None28%

PlatformsthatdevelopersexpecttoreleasetheirnextgameonincludedOculusRift(13%)HTCVive(13%),ValveIndex(10%),andiOSphone/tabletusingARKit(7%).Everyplatforminthesurveysawadecreaseindevelopmentplans—exceptforPlayStationVR2,asitwasthefirstyearonthelist.

StateoftheGameIndustry20228

WhichVR/ARplatform(s)doyouanticipateyournextgamewillbereleasedon?(Chooseallthatapply)

OculusQuest28%

OculusRift13%

HTCVIVE13%

PlayStationVR210%

ValveIndex10%

iOSphone/tabletusingARKit7%

PlayStationVR

GoogleARCore

7%

5%

WindowsMixedRealityHeadsets5%

ViveFlow3%

HPReverb2%

MagicLeapOne2%

Other7%

None52%

Gamedevelopmentandthemetaverse

Thepromiseofthemetaverseisgrowinginpopularityinthegameindustry.One

ofitsmost-popular(andlucrative)componentsisuser-generatedcontent(UGC).

Buthowmanydevelopersareactuallyparticipatinginthisfield?

WeaskedrespondentstotelluswhatUGCplatformstheyweredevelopingor

planningtodevelopcontentand/orexperiencesfor.Thevastmajority(83%)

saidtheywerenotinvolvedatall.Theremaining17%ofrespondentswere

evenlysplitbetweenRoblox(5%),Minecraft(4%),Fortnite(3%),Dreams(3%),and

Core(2%).Amongthosewhomarked“Other”(6%),responsesincluded:

TheSandbox,VRChat,UnrealEngine,and“prefernottoanswerdue[to]

confidentialityrestrictions.”

StateoftheGameIndustry20229

Eventhoughalargemajorityofrespondentswerenotinvolvedinuser-generatedcontent,thatdoesn’tnecessarilyreflectthepotentialofUGCandthelargermetaverseconcept.Weaskedrespondentswhichcompanies/platformswerebestplacedtodeliveronthepromiseofthemetaverse.Ofthecompanieslisted,themostpopularwasEpic/Fortnite(17%),followedbyFacebook(8%),Microsoft/Minecraft(8%),Roblox(6%),andGoogle(5%).

Aboutone-third(33%)ofrespondentsbelievethemetaverseconceptwillneverdeliveronitspromise.

Note:ThissurveywasconductedbeforeFacebook’sMetarebrandwasannounced.

Interestincryptocurrencies,NFTsgrow,butgamedevelopersremainskeptical

Oneofthenewest—andpossiblydivisive—additionstotheindustryarecryptocurrencyandnon-fungibletokens(NFTs).AsmoremajorstudiosannouncetheirintentiontoaddNFTsorcryptopaymenttoolsintotheirgames,wewantedtoknowhowwidespreadthispracticewasbecomingandhowgamedevelopersfeltaboutit.

Whatisyourstudio’sinterestincryptocurrencyasapaymenttool?

Veryinterested6%

Somewhatinterested21%

Notinterested72%

Alreadyusingit1%

Whatisyourstudio’sinterestinnon-fungibletokens(NFTs)?

Veryinterested7%

Somewhatinterested21%

Notinterested70%

Alreadydevelopingthem1%

Overone-fourth(27%)ofrespondentssaidtheirstudiosweresomewhatorveryinterestedincryptocurrency,and28%saidthesameaboutNFTs.However,amajorityofgameindustryprofessionalssaidtheircompanieswerenotinterestedatallincryptocurrency(72%)orNFTs(70%).Thecurrentimplementationofbothtechnologiesisstillverylimited,with1%ofrespondentssayingthattheirstudioalreadyuseseither.

StateoftheGameIndustry202210

WhenaskedhowtheyfeltaboutthepossibilityofcryptocurrencyorNFTs

ingames,afewcalledit“thefutureofgaming.”However,avastmajorityof

respondentsspokeoutagainstbothpractices—notingtheirpotentialforscams,

overallmonetizationconcerns,andtheenvironmentalimpact.

VoxPop:WhatareyourthoughtsontheuseofcryptocurrencyorNFTsin

videogamesandwhatdoyouthinktheirimpactwillbe?

“It’sthewaveofthefuture.”

“Howthishasn’tbeenidentifiedasapyramidschemeisbeyondme.”

“Ithinkitisatechlookingforapurpose.Peoplewillbeinterestedinitasagambleto

makemoney,butthere’snotenoughofapublicdemandforittobeanactualcurrency.”

“

Ithinkitisatechlookingforapurpose.”

“Whydoweneedthem?Whatbenefitdoesithave

puttingthesesystemsintoourgames?Whoisusing

thesethings?Itfeelslikeaverysmallaudience.And

also,thesetechnologiesarestillnotusingsustainable

energyandareatargetformoneylaundering.As

adeveloperIfeeldeeplyuncomfortablethatthereisapushforthese.Itfeels

entirelyfueledbygreedformoremoneybecausewereadstoriesaboutcrypto

millionaires,wheninrealityallofitisextremelyunstableandunethical.”

“Weshouldcollectivelyagreetobantheuseofblockchain-basedtechnologiesin

ourindustrybecauseoftheirhugelynegativeenvironmentalimpact.”

“Blockchainisafoundationaltechnologythatwilltransformorganizationsand

accountability,butNFTsandcryptocurrenciesingeneralareascam.”

“Ithinkthisisgoingtobeamassiveshiftinthewaywethinkaboutdigitalgoods

andownership/monetization.”

“NFTsandcryptoarecloselytiedtotheconceptofthemetaverseandIbelieve

thistobeintentional.Theforcesaffectinginterest(media,bigcompanies)

arebettingonanewvirtuallifeandtoconsume,wewillneedasaferand

democratizedvirtualeconomy.Thisiswherecryptowilldisrupt.”

“Ilookforwardtothegoldrushturningintoadogpileandwishallinvolved

maximumprofitatanycost.”

“I’drathernotendorseburningarainforestdowntoconfirmsomeone‘owns’ajpeg.”

“Burn‘emtotheground.Baneveryoneinvolvedinthem.IworkatanNFT

companycurrentlyandamquittingtogetawayfromit.”

StateoftheGameIndustry202211

“IpersonallyamquiteinterestedinNFTsandcryptocurrency,butmanypeoplein

mystudioandfriendcircledonotlikethemandwon’tdevelopforthem.Ithink

NFTsneedtogetabetterreputationwhenitcomesto[the]environmentandart

theftfirst,thenitmightbeaninterestingwaytogivedigitalcontentuniquevalue.”

“

Ithinkthisisgoingtobea

massiveshiftinthewaywethinkaboutdigitalgoodsandownership/monetization.”

“I’dbelyingifIsaidthatIdon’tthinkNFTsare,at

best,stupid,andatworst,predatoryandecologically

dangerous.Cryptocurrency,Ithink,canalsobea

sensitivethingtodealwith.Bothhavehadanimmense

amountofscamspopupinavery,veryshortwhile,

anditmakesmewonderifthattrendwillstay.”

“They’regoingtodriveawedgerightintheheartofthisindustry.It’sgoingto

becomereallyclearwhatfolks’motivationsare,andit’snotgoingtobepretty.”

Socialmedialeadsdiscovery,marketinginvestments

Intoday’scrowdedmarketplace,therightbuzzcanmeanthedifferencebetween

ahitandabust.Weaskedoursurvey-takerswhatdiscoverymethodstheyuse

togetthewordoutabouttheirgames,andhoweffectivetheythoughteach

marketingstrategyturnedouttobe.

Mostrespondentsreportedsmallinvestmentsintimeormoneyacrossavariety

ofavenues—mostnotablypre-recordedYouTubevideos,forumsandemail

marketing(24%each),alongwithtraditionalpressandbloggers(22%),real-time

communicationslikeDiscordandSlack(21%)andTwitchstreamers(20%).

Therewerealsorespondentsthatputmoderatetimeormoneyinvestmentsinto

YouTubevideos,mediaoutlets,andreal-timecommunications(20%each),but

thattimeormoneywasn’textendedtoemailmarketing(15%)orforums(13%).

Infact,forumswereseenastheleast-effectivemarketingstrategybasedon

weightedaverages,withemailmarketingcominginaclosesecond.

Socialmediawasonceagainthemost-popularformofmarketingforgame

studios—25%reportedmoderateinvestmentintoplatformslikeTwitteror

Facebook,and15%madealargeinvestment.Afewnotedhowthey’reevengetting

intoTikTokandSnapchat,with19%sayingtheymadeasmallinvestmentin

short-formvideo.However,71%ofrespondentsdidn’treportanyinvestmentinto

short-formvideo,makingittheleast-commondiscoverymethodthisyear.

Liveeventscontinuedtotakeahit,evenasin-personactivitieshavestartedto

resume.About58%ofrespondentsdidn’tnoteanyinvestmentsintoliveevents,

whichwasthesamenumberasin2021,upfrom50%in2020and42%in2019(prior

totheCOVID-19pandemic).

StateoftheGameIndustry202212

Ontheotherhand,simply“gettingthewordout”remainedpopular,with14%

havingmadealargeinvestmentintoword-of-mouthcampaigns.Justlikein

2021,wordofmouthwasthesecondmost-effectivemarketingstrategy,based

onweightedaverages—themost-effectiveonewaspromotingonaplatform’s

digitalstorefront,something19%ofrespondentsreportedmakingamoderate

investmentinto.

Accessibilityingamesontherise

Accessibilityhasbecomeanimportanttopicamongplayersofalllevels,andthe

gamedevelopmentcommunityistakingnotice.

Weaskedrespondentswhethertheircurrentgamesareimplementingany

accessibilitymeasuresforthosewithsensory,motor,orotherimpairments.In

previousyears,morerespondentshavesaid“No”(48%in2020,42%in2021)than

“Yes”(28%in2020,31%in2021)—butthereversehappenedthistimearound.

Haveyouimplementedanyaccessibilitymeasures(forthosewithsensoryimpairment,motorimpairment,orotherimpairments)intoyourcurrentgame?

Yes39%

No36%

Don’tKnow/N/A25%

In2022,therewasanincreaseinthenumberofdeveloperswhosaidtheirgameswere

addingaccessibilitymeasures(39%)andadecreaseinthosewhoweren’t(36%).It’sthe

firsttimemorerespondentssaid“Yes”sincethequestionwasaddedtothesurveyin

2019.There’sstillawaytogo,butaccessibilityoptionsappeartobeprogressing.

Whenaskedwhatgamedevelopersaredoingtomaketheirgamesmoreaccessible,

responsesincluded:colorblindmodes,re-bindablecontrols,closedcaptioningand

descriptivetext,dyslexia-friendlyfonts,customizabledifficultyoptions,motionsickness

settings,andmore.Herearefurtherexamples:

VoxPop:Canyouprovideexamplesofhowyouchangedyourgametomake

itmoreaccessible?

“Wehademployeesgetanaccessibilitycertification,instilled[a]newprocessondesign

teamstoincludeaccessibilityindesign,appointedspecificpeopleonteamstoleadthose

considerationsandbringthemupinmeetings,andworkedwithouraccessibilityand

disabilityERG[employeeresourcegroup].”

StateoftheGameIndustry202213

“HapticfeedbackinPS5toassistwithdeaf/[hard-of-hearing]players.Younolongerhave

tohearaudiobecauseyoucanfeelit.”

“OurstandingVRexperiencehasaccommodationsforusersinwheelchairs.”

“Becausewehaveaday/nightcycle,weimplementedan‘a(chǎn)lwaysdaytime’featurefor

thosethatonlyhavetimetoplayatnightorfindvisibilityinthedarkerenvironment

detrimentaltotheirabilitytoplaythegame.”

“Addedsubtitlesandmadepuzzlessolvableviaaudiocues.”

“Allourcamerashakeanimationsareprocedural,soweareabletodisablethemthroughtheoptionsmenu.Didarenderingconsistencypasstofixcaseswherebloomcouldflashduetorenderingbugsandpotentiallycauseanepilepticrisk.”

Unfortunatelythereis

stillalotofpushbackinimplementingaccessibilityfeatures”

“Ourlastgamewasforchildrenwithspecialeducationalneeds.Sincemanykidswereontheautismspectrum,wetriedtolimittheactivityonthescreenandtookmeasurestodirecttheirattentiontothetaskathand.”

“

“Unfortunatelythereisstillalotofpushbackinimplementingaccessibilityfeatures,but

anytimetheteamwantstointroduceafeaturewheretheonlydifferenceiscolorIalways

remindthemthatweneedadifferentwaytocommunicatetoplayersinsteadofjust

color(addingicons,changingshapes).”

Stillworktobedoneondiversityandinclusion

Accessibilityisoneofmanytopicsundertheumbrellaofdiversityandinclusion

intheworkplace.WithamajorityofWesterngamestudiosdominatedbycishet

non-disabledwhitemen,morecompanieshavebeenworkingtowardcreatinga

moreequitableanddiverseworkplace.

Howsuccessfuldoyouthinkyourstudio’sattemptsatinclusionanddiversityhavebeen?

Notatallsuccessful6%

Slightlysuccessful23%

Moderatelysuccessful42%

Verysuccessful20%

Extremelysuccessful8%

StateoftheGameIndustry202214

Weaskedourpoolofgameindustryprofessionalstogaugetowhatextent

theirstudiofocusedonstaffinclusionanddiversityinitiatives.Thisyear,57%

ofrespondentssaidtheirstudio’sinitiativeeffortsrangedfrom“amoderate

amount”to“agreatdeal,”whichisslightlydownfrom2021(60%).However,

morepeoplesaid“agreatdeal”(29%)thandidlastyear(21%).Almostone-

quarter(24%)saidtheirstudioshadnotfocusedondiversityorinclusion.

Whenwefollowedwithhowsuccessfultheyfoundthoseefforts,avast

majority(94%)saidtheywereatleastslightlysuccessful,while6%saidtheydid

notfinditatallsuccessful.

VoxPop:Whatspecificallyisyourcompanydoingtoexpanddiversityand

inclusionefforts?

“Wearefocusingonourrecruitment,specificallywritingourjobpoststo

highlightwhatwe’reabletoofferwhichwillattractcandidateswhohave

diversebackgrounds.We’vegonefullyremotesincethepandemic.We’re

workingwithcharitieswhowillenableustoreachcandidatesofdiverseethnic

heritages.”

“Remoteworkisagame-changer.”

“Reducedrelianceonseniorityand‘shippedtitleexperience’inhiring.

Returnshipprogramforwomenlookingtore-entertheworkforce.”

“TheyhavesetupacommitteeinthelastsixmonthstopromoteD&Ibut

nothinghasperceivablybeenachievedorchanged.Ifanything,thecompany

hasbecomelessdiverseas3womenhaveleft/areleaving.”

“Webelieveinthecontentoftheflask,nottheflaskitself.Wheninterviewing,

wewantthebestresults.Ifyourworkisgood,youareateamplayerandyou

haveagrowthmindset,you’rein.”

We’renotdoingthekindof

effortfuloutreachthatisneededtoreallydiversifyourgroup”

“Notenough.We’retryingtohiremorediversepeople,butthevastmajorityofapplicantsarewhite,male,orboth.We’renotdoingthekindofeffortfuloutreachthatisneededtoreallydiversifyourgroup.”

“Changingthewaywewriteourjobads,runourinterviewsandnetworkswegetintouchwith.WeofferlanguagecoursesintereoMāoriaswell.”

“

“Screeningpotentialhiresforbullyingorbigotedonlineinteractions.”

StateoftheGameIndustry202215

“Wouldn’tweallliketoknow,insteadwe’rebeingsuedfordiscriminatory

employmentpracticeswhilebeingconstantlyreassuredbyexecutivesthatthey

totallydon’tstandforthatsortofthing.”

“Stoptalkingaboutitandjustdoit.”

Gamestudiosengageinsocialactivism

TheriseinmovementslikeBlackLivesMatter,StopAsianHate,andtheclimate

crisisconversationhasresultedinanexpectationthatcompaniesdomoreto

engageinthecommunity.

Inthepastyear,towhatdegreehasyourstudiotakenpartinanyactivismorsocialjusticemovements?

Agreatdeal8%

Amoderateamount20%

Alittle24%

Noneatall49%

Thisyear,weaskedgameindustr