Does the Gaming industry have a diversity problem?

“The games industry still has a diversity problem.” These are the words of Into Games' CEO and Co-Founder Declan Cassidy. “There’s not enough women in the industry and there’s not enough people from low-income backgrounds coming into the industry.” 

According to UKIE’s 2022 UK Games Industry Census, 67 per cent of the sector was male, 30 per cent was female and three per cent was non-binary.  

The same report found that 62 per cent of those surveyed reported living in a household where the main income earner worked in a managerial or professional job, significantly higher than the 37 per cent of the general population to grow up in those households.  

Into Games is working to change this by promoting the industry as a viable career for people of all backgrounds.  

Much of its focus at an early stage is letting young people know that the industry is for them and breaking down the stigma or anxieties people from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds, or their parents, might hold.  

“It’s also about letting young people know that games’ skills are applicable to the sector, but also applicable in a lot of other sectors as well – and letting their parents know that it’s a viable career path.” 

One of the ways it is doing this is through video game-making after school clubs. The first trial of this saw Into Games installing game-making software on the school’s computers, along with training for the teachers in how to use it.  

It then ran for six sessions, taught by either second- and third-year university games students, or final year college students. The students were taken through the process of making a game from start to finish: from having their first idea, putting it into practice, then submitting the final product to the BAFTA Young Game Designer competition, as well as meeting an industry professional.  

Declan explained: “What we found quite interesting was that, while we had thought the university students would be better, in the pilots we’ve been running the college students – and we’re talking 17 or 18-year-olds – have been just as good, if not better.  

“We did that because it’s great to be able to show those young people their next step in a very visceral way, in terms of the person that’s teaching them, rather than an industry professional who’s just so far away from where they’re at. Through the process we wanted to demonstrate the pathway.” 

Further down the pipeline, Into Games works to support work experience as well as creating training packages for studios so they can complete the circle and support the next generation, creating a circular process. 

“Once you’ve shown them that it’s a potential route, you then have to tell them how hard it is to get a job in games. Even for those that go to University, which is still the most viable route, it’s difficult because while there are jobs, there’s not a lot. So, it’s reiterating that those skills are applicable elsewhere and people will often have a non-linear route into the industry. 

“It can also be down to picking a university which has strong ties to a studio, and that those ties are built-in to the course itself – which we also help with. Boot camps, refresher courses finishing schools. 

“We also try to educate people on the variety of different roles in the industry. It’s not just programmers and tech-focused roles. We list around 160 different possible positions in the sector on our website, showing the industry is there for everybody. 

“Don’t ignore the games sector. It might be hard to break in, seeming closed off and secretive, but once you get in it’s really open, up for doing things and taking risks, open to working with young people – they just need to keep knocking at the door”.