“Hangar 13’s focus to improving diversity naturally pulls us into new and exciting directions” – Women in Games sponsor Hangar 13 on their work to encourage diversity

As we look ahead to the upcoming MCV/DEVELOP Women in Games Awards 2020, taking place on November 25th, we’re taking the opportunity to reflect on the year so far, and on the importance of diversity in our industry.

To this end, we sat down with Hangar 13 Games, Career Mentor of the Year sponsor at the Women in Games Awards 2020 – to find out more about their work to support women in the industry.

“Hangar 13’s focus to improving diversity naturally pulls us into new and exciting directions that has led us to create original stories, inspiring characters, immersive worlds, and innovative games for the future” says Rebecca Sampson, Director Of Operations at Hangar 13. “It is for this very reason that partnering with organisations such as Women in Games and Code Coven to sponsor and encourage talented people, especially by ways of mentoring, is so important right now in the games industry, and a reason why we are honoured to be sponsoring the ‘Career Mentor of the Year’ Award.

“We continually strive to expand the team’s diversity on a global scale, working in San Francisco, Brighton, Brno and Prague in the Czech Republic. We have an amazingly, creative group of individuals, crafting stunning AAA games with compelling stories, characters, and worlds. The team is very excited to be bringing back the original Mafia game with a full remake, completing the Mafia Trilogy that was released earlier this year. It has been a labour of love for us all and we’re keen to see fans excited about this beloved franchise coming back to life and being revitalised.”

“As a company,” adds head of production Mike Rouse, “we make a conscious effort internally (as well as externally) to add extra focus on creating awareness and celebrating strong, inspiring female role models, whether that be within the games industry or business in general. We have recently started internal initiatives around Women in Games’ where we virtually share some thought-provoking talks from aspirational women.

“These sessions are open to all at Hangar 13 to attend, where views and reflections are discussed at the end of each session. We also sponsored the recent Women in Games Virtual Summer Lunch and intend on having an keen role at the Global conference later on this year. These groups and events not only introduce incredible role models to the women we have at our studio and across the games industry, and to the male colleagues they work alongside, but also help spread the message loud and clear that we have a strong desire to help the games industry become more inclusive.”

Nominations for the Women in Games Awards 2020 are open now. If you would like to nominate the hard work of your colleagues, or your own achievements, please head to our Women in Games Awards website to make your voice heard.