Women in Games CEO warns "we are going backwards as an industry"

Women in Games CEO Marie-Claire Isaaman has released a statement asking if the games industry is “going backwards” following reports that “multiple folks” were assaulted or spiked at this year’s GDC event.

In a public statement, Isaaman reflected on employment stats and revealed that whilst “both male and female gamers experienced similarly high levels of toxicity, showing that toxicity is an issue across the entire gaming community”, “the experience that girls and women encounter are often much darker and threatening”.

“Sexist stereotypes and being aggressively quizzed about their gaming skills often lead to more violent verbal abuse and threats of rape,” Isaaman says. “Even more disturbingly, the abuse doesn’t always stop once players leave the game – some instances manifest into serious consequences outside of gaming, including stalking on other platforms and threats of this transferring into real life.