Disparities continue to exist in the video game industry, according to a newly released report by the Game Developers Conference.
Released as part of the annual State of the Game Industry report by the company, the survey found that the industry is still disproportionately dominated by white men despite companies claiming they’ve started initiatives to diversify the field.
Overall, they reported that 92% of the video game industry was made up of white men. The statistic reflected that of a longstanding majority white male dominated industry.
According to the report, when it came to employees with more experience and time in professional video game creation, a majority of game developers with 21 or more years in the industry were white men.
Overall, while 92% of the employees with the most time were white men, only six percent of game developers with the most experience in the industry were Black men. There were no Black women who were in the video game development field for decades.
#GDC2024 State of the Game Industry report is here.
— GDC 2024 (@Official_GDC) January 18, 2024
Over 3K developers weighed in on key topics like industry layoffs, Generative AI, return-to-office policies, accessibility, and more.
🧵 with some highlights. Read the full report here.https://t.co/79A0jQBaNj pic.twitter.com/ePDCIUVe2d
The disparities are likely to continue to persist as employees reported a more negative view of company efforts to diversify the field. Per the report, there was a shift in the success of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the eyes of the employees.
Whereas last year approximately 96% of those involved in the survey said that they believed their companies’ initiatives were successful, this year marked a decline as 90% of respondents involved this year reported the same. Instead, more employees agreed that they were unsuccessful, increasing to 11% from the reported four percent in 2023.
“Developers were asked to elaborate on the successes or failures of their company DEI policies: Most discussed the shortcomings,” wrote the researchers in their report. “According to an analysis of open responses conducted by our partners at Omdia, some [of] the most pressing concerns include the lack of resources and training, an increase in mandatory return-to-office policies, and an inability to attract qualified diverse candidates.”
To help address the lack of diversity in the field, a variety of nonprofits work towards providing an entrance into video game design.
Black Voices in Gaming is one of the most notable nonprofits that’s dedicated to increasing opportunities for Black game developers.
Along with noting a variety of games developed by Black game developers, the nonprofit offers programs such as the Xperience Excellence Accelerator, a three-month long initiative that provides network opportunities and a $20k award to four teams to develop the prototype of a potential project.
Black Voices in Gaming also offers summer showcases that give video game developers the platform to present their work.
