Black Voices in Gaming and the journey to sustainability
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Creating a more inclusive games industry requires a lot of work and longevity. Such efforts across the business sector have gained traction over the years. Recent years have seen a number of organizations and platforms created to help overlooked communities find a place in the industry, among them Black Voices in Gaming.
Since its establishment in 2020, Black Voices in Gaming has tried to stay the course with its mission statement: to uplift and showcase the contributions of Black game developers and has become a staple at media showcases.
Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Black Voices in Gaming director and co-founder Justin Woodward says the most significant lesson for the organization has been creating work that leads to more sustainability for Black professionals within the industry.
Woodward says, "I would say the takeaway is how do you create a nonprofit organization, find the funding involved to help developers, find the opportunities to fund the organization to pay your team and get the work done? A lot of this stuff is [still] pro bono.
"I still work with Humble on the Black Game Developer Fund. So how do we transcend a fund [and deliver] critical information and knowledge necessary to make sustainable businesses?
The Black Voices in Gaming director explains just as the summer protests of 2020 spoke for Black equality; the message remains the same: people of color must be in more decision-making positions within the industry. Addressing that opportunity and getting more developers from overlooked communities is why Black Voices in Gaming exists.
As the organization focuses on spotlighting Back game developers, it has maintained a
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