A Chat With Our Queer ERG

2024-07-26

Happy Pride! At Avalanche, we fly the rainbow flag all summer, celebrating Pride across our locations.

And that doesn’t just mean that we celebrate everyone’s right to be themselves; it also allowed us the perfect opportunity to sit down with one of the members of our recently formed Queer ERG to talk about LGBTQ+ support and representation.

Ash (they/them) has been in game development since 2022, when they joined our Liverpool office as a QA Analyst on Call of the Wild: The Angler. Ash now works with our AAA games in QA. “My experience as a queer game dev has been positive!” they say, “I always feel included and never as if my identity stands in the way of my opinions being taken seriously!”

Being a non-binary game developer sometimes means taking extra steps to help your coworkers support you. “I mostly feel very supported – those closest to me are always respectful and considerate of my pronoun choice. Sometimes, people outside my frequent contacts can slip up, but it’s never malicious at all. I understand that some may not understand or simply forget. I usually just politely remind them. Everyone is super friendly and nice about it.”

At Avalanche, we’ve always aimed to curate a supportive and welcoming environment, no matter who you are. Support can look like a lot of things to different people. To Ash, pronouns really matter. “The pronouns on our Slack profiles are such a small thing, but hugely appreciated. Seeing them on someone else’s profile feels safe for those who may be more reserved about sharing their own preferred pronouns.”

“I also love our office pride celebrations! They let us come together and unapologetically be our own creative selves without fear of judgment. Not to mention, you really can’t argue with rainbow cakes.”

Though rainbow cakes are fantastic, the industry has come further than baked goods. Ash believes we should now seek “even more representation in games! This can mean ensuring diversity among game characters, as well as supporting queer people who want to get into gaming.”

And how about that Employee Resource Group?

“Being a part of the Queer ERG at Avalanche is a huge honor. To be able to work with such open-minded and focused people with the same passion for representation in the games industry has been an incredible experience! The collective energy and dedication to the group are inspiring, and I am forever grateful for their seemingly never-ending enthusiasm to make positive changes and bring great things to Avalanche!”
So, our recently formed ERG is a great reason to be excited about the industry, but Ash also comes back to the excitement and joy that comes with “seeing myself represented! It seems so simple but just the existence of characters my friends and I can relate to makes all the difference.”

“It makes me feel hopeful for a more open-minded and understanding future where hate is overridden by love and acceptance. Where you can be true to your own sense of self and identity. Not just in gaming, but also IRL!”