Iron Galaxy on diversity, inclusion, and its rise in LGBTQ+ staff
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It’s no secret that the games industry has an inclusion problem. While many developers and publishers claim to want a diverse pool of staff members, it seems the industry has a long way to go to achieve that goal.
But some developers seem to be making an effort to change that. Iron Galaxy, a developer based in Chicago — with a second studio in Orlando and a third in Nashville on the way — says it now has 23.3% LGBTQ+ employees. This is a much higher percentage than is typical for the industry. The World Economic Forum’s recently released Audience Representation Index indicates gaming is lagging behind other media in representation and diversity.
Iron Galaxy has worked on several triple-A games, including Killer Instinct Seasons 2 & 3, as well as ports of Skyrim, Spyro Reignited, and Crash Bandicoot: The N Sane Trilogy. Its current project is Rumbleverse, a 40-player brawler royale. Last year, GamesIndustry.biz named it one of the best places to work in the US.
GamesBeat spoke with Iron Galaxy’s co-CEO, Chelsea Blasko, and DEI program manager Rejess Marshall about what it’s doing to accommodate and respect its staff. Here is an edited transcript of our interview:
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GamesBeat: Was there a point where you decided to change things at Iron Galaxy?
Chelsea Blasko: For a little bit of history on it, one of the things we recognized was we had quite a
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