How Black women in the UK have made their mark on the video games industry

metro.co.uk:

For Black History Month, three Black female gamers discuss the difficulties they’ve faced forging a career in the video games industry.

The gaming world serves as a safe space for many; it offers opportunities for unique discoveries, self-expression, and exploration while creating an umbrella of tight-knit, niche communities. With so many heeding its call, more creators, streamers, and developers are joining in, all intending to make their own impact.

However, diversity in the UK games industry is severely underrepresented and Black women, in particular, are constantly overlooked, underestimated, and outright ignored in their respective fields.

As a result, there is a growing community that is striving for recognition and fair treatment, although there is still a long way to go as the industry moves at a tortoise-like pace.

For decades, the creation and marketing of games has been geared toward a male audience, and white male creators are usually at the forefront of this, especially on platforms such as Twitch where they are the highest paid.

This issue perpetuates a toxic and misogynistic work environment for marginalised people, who tend to feel like collateral damage in comparison to their privileged peers. It is usually often overlooked and has even been encouraged by some companies, especially in their early marketing days.

Although it seems like the gaming industry is having a girl boss moment, Black female creators still aren’t visible in this, as they’re not taken seriously.

Many are ostracised and underpaid, despite consumer brands of all types, including games, exploiting creators of colour or all but ignoring them, to rely on only a token number of Black creatives.

72% of game developers in the US are white males and