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Enduring Play S2 E1 Released: Powering Up Game Dev by Making Space for All with Joanie Kraut

CategoriesEnduring Play
Enduring Play S2 E1 Released: Powering Up Game Dev by Making Space for All with Joanie Kraut

Season 2’s bonus-length debut episode features a candid, constructive, and hopeful conversation with Women in Games International CEO Joanie Kraut. Recent reports indicate that 46-48% of gamers globally are women – but only one third of game developers identify as women or nonbinary, and that’s still far larger than the representation numbers seen in esports. How do we break these cycles, and how can we lift up marginalized groups in gaming in a way that benefits everyone – all genders, all ethnicities, all races, all sexual orientations – with an eye towards equity? Joanie Kraut has been exploring these questions in her work as CEO of WIGI, bringing diverse cohorts of allies to the table across the industry for years. We cover everything from Joanie’s incredibly relatable origin story in gaming to WIGI’s history of partnership with the Game Developers Conference and what all listeners can learn from the preparations WIGI’s GDC scholars engage in each year. It doesn’t matter what your gender is or what your career stage is – there’s something here for you, and there’s a seat at WIGI’s table for you, too. Game development is complex and challenging and we all know it’s dangerous to go alone – learn about the programs WIGI offers to anyone who needs guidance on navigating complex workplace scenarios to help you build inclusive teams and games that speak to wider audiences.

Engage with this episode now:

Enduring Play: A Game Dev Podcast Season 2 Episode 1 – Joanie Kraut [Show Notes]

Key Quotes

“If you look at the breakdown of gamers who are women, gamers who are femme-identifying, gamers who are BIPOC, gamers who have a disability, gamers who are LGBTQ? If you’re not bringing all of those people to the table when you’re making your game, you’re making your your controller or your peripheral, or you’re making whatever it is that you’re doing to to bring into the games industry, you’re not bringing all those perspectives. You’re not going to sell to those crowds. So if you want to keep selling to the same crowd, keep doing the same thing, that’s fine… but you’re missing out on a huge market.If you look at the breakdown of gamers who are women, gamers who are femme-identifying, gamers who are BIPOC, gamers who have a disability, gamers who are LGBTQ? If you’re not bringing all of those people to the table when you’re making your game, you’re making your your controller or your peripheral, or you’re making whatever it is that you’re doing to to bring into the games industry, you’re not bringing all those perspectives. You’re not going to sell to those crowds. So if you want to keep selling to the same crowd, keep doing the same thing, that’s fine… but you’re missing out on a huge market.“

“My first introduction to the gaming world was through eSports. There were a lot of men, and I still remember going to my first conference and having somebody say, “Are you a girlfriend, a daughter or a sister?” There’s no reason I could possibly be there as a fan: I had to be attached to a man. I’m like, “Actually, I’m working here, thank you. I’m a fan.” I would say there’s a lot of progress there. It’s much different going to an eSports tournament and having somebody say, you know, “What do you play? What’s your main?” instead of “Who are you attached to?” And I think that’s definitely part of the progress we’re trying to create.”

“When I was younger, my mom was offered free tickets to take us to the circus, and she was like, “Oh my god, I can’t afford free tickets.” Can you just sit with that for a minute? It’s not just a ticket: it’s the gas, it’s the food, it’s winter boots and parking money, and so many things beyond a free ticket. When I first started at WIGI, I noticed some of these conferences were handing out free tickets, which is great if you can afford to be in San Francisco for a week, but a lot of people who need a free ticket can’t. So how do we create a more sustainable experience focused on not just getting a ticket, but actually getting there and being there, and not just being there physically, but being there in a the best way you can possibly show up.”

“And men are part of this. I mean, there’s a huge opportunity to working with men and stop making them the bad guy, because they have more power. That’s not that doesn’t make sense to me. Why wouldn’t we come together and use that power to support each other and continue the conversations that we want to be be having? So we have that. We have an allyship committee on our advisory board, and the whole focus is changing minds, making conversations and creating so how do we bring everyone to the table to continue to move things in the right direction?

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"And men are part of this. I mean, there's a huge opportunity to working with men and stop making them the bad guy, because they have more power. That's not that doesn't make sense to me. Why wouldn't we come together and use that power to support each other and continue the conversations that we want to be be having? So we have that. We have an allyship committee on our advisory board, and the whole focus is changing minds, making conversations and creating so how do we bring everyone to the table to continue to move things in the right direction?
"My first introduction to the gaming world was through eSports. There were a lot of men, and I still remember going to my first conference and having somebody say, “Are you a girlfriend, a daughter or a sister?” There's no reason I could possibly be there as a fan: I had to be attached to a man. I'm like, “Actually, I'm working here, thank you. I'm a fan.” I would say there's a lot of progress there. It's much different going to an eSports tournament and having somebody say, you know, “What do you play? What's your main?” instead of “Who are you attached to?” And I think that's definitely part of the progress we're trying to create."
"When I was younger, my mom was offered free tickets to take us to the circus, and she was like, “Oh my god, I can't afford free tickets.” Can you just sit with that for a minute? It's not just a ticket: it's the gas, it's the food, it's winter boots and parking money, and so many things beyond a free ticket. When I first started at WIGI, I noticed some of these conferences were handing out free tickets, which is great if you can afford to be in San Francisco for a week, but a lot of people who need a free ticket can't. So how do we create a more sustainable experience focused on not just getting a ticket, but actually getting there and being there, and not just being there physically, but being there in a the best way you can possibly show up."
"If you look at the breakdown of gamers who are women, gamers who are femme-identifying, gamers who are BIPOC, gamers who have a disability, gamers who are LGBTQ? If you're not bringing all of those people to the table when you're making your game, you're making your your controller or your peripheral, or you're making whatever it is that you're doing to to bring into the games industry, you're not bringing all those perspectives. You're not going to sell to those crowds. So if you want to keep selling to the same crowd, keep doing the same thing, that's fine... but you're missing out on a huge market.If you look at the breakdown of gamers who are women, gamers who are femme-identifying, gamers who are BIPOC, gamers who have a disability, gamers who are LGBTQ? If you're not bringing all of those people to the table when you're making your game, you're making your your controller or your peripheral, or you're making whatever it is that you're doing to to bring into the games industry, you're not bringing all those perspectives. You're not going to sell to those crowds. So if you want to keep selling to the same crowd, keep doing the same thing, that's fine... but you're missing out on a huge market."

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Enduring Play is the companion podcast to The Game Development Strategy Guide: Crafting Modern Video Games that Thrive. Season 1 features the interviews that inspired the book, and Season 2 expands our understanding of how to create sustainable gaming experiences. The book is available at all major online booksellers and at publisher Rosenfeld Media’s website.

Use code ENDURINGPLAYS2 at RosenfeldMedia.com to get 15% off your order – and all physical orders at Rosenfeld Media receive a free ebook. Podcast Season 2 offer expires July 31, 2026.

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