Aloy attacking a machine with a spear in Horizon Forbidden West. The game development space is undergoing a seismic shift in its diversity makeup, with the GDC State of the Game Industry report finding that 32 percent of all game developers now identify as female or non-binary.

This is up three percent when compared to last year’s report and eight percent when compared to 2022’s. However, it suggests that women and non-binary developers are still slightly under-represented when compared to their male counterparts.

Males Still Make Up 66 Percent Of All Game Developers, 24 Percent Identify As LGBTQ+

Arcane image showing Vi and Caitlyn.

GDC’s report finds that men still make up 66 percent of all game developers, down from 75 percent in 2020—a nine percent decrease over the last four years. 66 percent, of course, still puts males in the majority.

Alongside an increase in women and non-binary developers, the report found that almost a quarter of game developers (24 percent) identified as LGBTQ+. This represents a three percent year-on-year increase. It found that almost half (43 percent) of developers aged between 18 and 24 identify as LGBTQ+, with women far more likely to do so.

The report found that almost a quarter of all game developers (24 percent) identified as LGBTQ+.

In terms of ethnicity, the State of the Game industry report found that 59 percent of developers were White/Caucasian, 10 percent were Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin, and only three percent were Black, African, or Caribbean.

This split meant that there was a slight increase in racial diversity at game studios, with the number of White/Caucasian respondents down from 64 percent, but development houses were still predominantly staffed by the latter. The publishers of the report do note that due to the fact that the survey takes place in the United States, certain responses may “not always represent the views of the global community at large.”

The culmination of the ‘Global Game Developer Community’ section of GDC’s report found that 35 percent of all respondents were white, male, and not part of the LGBTQ+ community. It shows that while strides have been made to diversify the industry, there is still a little way to go.

GDC’s report found that 35 percent of all respondents were white, male, and not part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Calls for broader diversity in the gaming space have been growing for several years now, and several prominent game developers and studios have spoken up about the issue. Last year, Tales of Kenzera: Zau’s director, Abubakar Salim, delivered a heartfelt message following racial abuse he’d received, saying that diverse games are “for everyone,” and CD Projekt Red’s CEO recently rubbished claims that “diversity hires” were ruining the studio. But as support grows for these initiatives, so does discontent from a vocal minority.