Black Voices in Gaming recently announced that they’ll be partnering with Netflix Games to support current Black video game creators.
Throughout a three-month program known as the “XPerience Excellence Accelerator,” the nonprofit and Netflix Games will be dedicating approximately $20,000 each in funds to helping developers from four studios with their video game projects.
The four studios that will take part in the initiative include Oshoma Games, SpaceSalad Studios, Weathered Sweater and Gesinimo Games.
Throughout the course of the “XPerience Excellence Accelerator” program, developers from the U.S., the U.K., Nigeria and South Africa that have found positions in these four studios will receive funds and will further their careers through the initiative.
The program will help each developer network in the gaming industry and discover how to create a prototype that’ll eventually be ready to pitch to any investors or potential partners.
In a press release, the CEO and founder of Black Voices in Gaming, Justin Woodward, emphasized the impact that this new initiative has on spreading the message of the nonprofit.
“Since Black Voices In Gaming’s inception, our team has been continually pursuing new programs and partnerships to help raise visibility and opportunities for developers in the Black community,” said Woodward in a public statement. “The evolution of Netflix in the gaming space and dedication to innovate in the industry is fresh and opens up opportunities to serve new audiences on a familiar platform which is exciting”
“It is great to be able to collaborate on this program with the cohort of talented developers in the Black Voices In Gaming community,” he added.
Overall, the video game industry has struggled to diversify leadership positions and the field in general. According to a study by the International Game Developers Association, only five percent of video game developers in the U.S. are Black Americans.
The statistic is a slow increase from previous years, as only two percent of video game developers in the U.S. were Black Americans in 2020.
The lack of diversity is also apparent in top video game companies. According to Riot Games, only 3.1% of their staff were Black game developers in 2021.
Meanwhile, Electronic Art’s latest 2022 report detailed that only 3.8% of their overall employees were Black Americans.
The lack of diversity in video game creator and developer roles is not reflective of video game consumers, as 73% of video gamers are Black Americans, according to Nielsen.
