Many Cats Studios and Ukie's #RaiseTheGame Impact Campaign 2023 Press Release
By Dominic Shaw (He/Him) on 24/04/2023
Ukie’s #RaiseTheGame and Many Cats Studios are proud to partner to launch a new campaign to showcase the disabled and neurodiverse developers, games journalists, esports players and content creators of the UK games industry and broader community.
The campaign, called Impact, profiles a cohort of six disabled and neurodiverse games industry professionals of various levels and specialisms to demonstrate the unique perspectives, input and value they offer the industry over their careers by proudly advocating their identity.
Applications by nomination for the inaugural Impact cohort open on Monday 24th April.
The selected cohort will get a chance to have their voice heard at the forefront of the games industry, with the opportunity to improve the visibility of disabled people working in the industry.
Ukie’s latest UK Games Industry Consensus shows that the games industry has more neurodivergent people working within it than the UK working average, with 4% of the UK games industry considering themselves disabled, alongside 18% identifying as neurodiverse. Furthermore, the games industry has more people who were autistic or had a condition affecting concentration, such as ADHD, working in it than the working age population.
The chosen cohort will be invited to appear at UK industry events starting with Develop: Brighton in July and offered the chance to speak at companies about the experiences of disabled and neurodivergent people working within games, covering areas such as accessibility, representation and inclusion. They will also feature in a digital campaign highlighting them as top-tier professionals in video games.
“When I started in the industry, there was no-one that I saw who was disabled like myself. I am proud to work with Ukie to create something that will show disabled and neurodiverse people that there is a place for them in this industry and celebrate the contributions of a marginalised group.
Impact seeks to improve education, empathy and awareness around disability and neurodiversity within the industry and broader gaming community, aiming to open up more opportunities to disabled and neurodivergent applicants in the future.”
“Building an equal, diverse and inclusive games industry is a key priority for the UK games sector. In order to continue to thrive, we need more people working in the industry who can bring different lived experiences and perspectives to their creative work and who can show others that they can be part of this sector too.
The #RaiseTheGame pledge plays a key role in highlighting our sector’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and this campaign is a fantastic way to expand on the work done through the Access November campaign in 2022.”
Third Kind Games is amongst the first studios to support Impact on launch.
“To make creative, inclusive, and more enjoyable games, we need people from all backgrounds, including disabled and neurodiverse people, to share their insights, their expertise, and their stories.
It's important to highlight the talents of disabled and neurodiverse people in the industry as with their input and their experiences, we are able to create accessible games that can be enjoyed and experienced by more people than ever.
With the Impact campaign showcasing the fantastic disabled and neurodiverse talent of the industry, it gives us the opportunity to celebrate the work that they do. It also sends a powerful message to all developers that if you are disabled and you want to make games, then you can.”
Impact will reveal the first cohort of disabled and neurodivergent professionals in July 2023.
If you or your company would like to be involved or sponsor the campaign, email dom@ukie.org.uk.