5 Badass Women in the Game Industry You Didn’t Know Existed

5 Women who are making a difference in the game industry.
5 Women who are making a difference in the game industry.

We often take it for granted when we see a woman talking about an upcoming game at an event like E3, or hosting a game-related show.  In a lot of cases, you’d be right to assume that the companies send models or spokeswomen to events, and shows because they look good.  That said, there are many, many women in the games industry that the men can’t hold a candle.  It’s because of the male-dominated industry that they had to forge themselves into the badasses listed here. 

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These women aren’t listed in any particular order since they all deserve a number one spot on various lists.  So I’ll start with…

Tanya Short

Why she is a badass:

Tanya co-founded Pixelles (along with Rebecca Cohen Palacios), a non-profit organization based in Montreal dedicated to empowering women to make and change games. Pixelles organizes free monthly workshops, a mentorship program for aspiring women-in-games, game jams, socials and more. 

If that’s not enough, she also holds a Master’s Degree in Interactive Media, with a focus on level design.  In addition to Pixelles, Tanya Co-founded Kitfox Games where she is their Creative Director.

Jade Raymond

Why she is a badass:

Jade is a former programmer, and currently a video game producer.  She founded EA’s Motive Studio, and Ubisoft Toronto. Her resume includes; the G4 show The Electric Playground (miss that show), leading the creation of the first Assassin’s Creed, executive producer of Assassin’s Creed II and Watch Dogs, as well as a BAFTA Games Award for Technical Achievement (2009).

Lillian Chen

Why she is a badass:

Lilian is a former competitive Super Smash Bros. Melee player.  After competing, she co-founded The New Meta, a panel about gender issues women face within competitive gaming spaces.  She is also a designer, works for YouTube Gaming, has a blog: LilChen.com, and has been a featured TED speaker.

 

Alisa Simola aka Nulisa

Why she is a badass:

Alisa is the first woman to make the main roster of a Smite Pro League team. With so few women currently in eSports, that is no minor accomplishment. She is currently on Team eLevate.

Stephanie Harvey aka MissHarvey

Why she is a badass: 

Stephanie Harvey founded CLG Red, an all-female Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team, which is a part of Counter Logic Gaming. She and her team rank among the top CS: GO players in the world. Stephanie also participates in panels to help grow the participation of women in eSports.

These women have already made an impact on several areas of the game industry like eSports, creation, design, gender equality, and more.  When someone says, “girls don’t play games,” or anything equally ignorant, now you can list at least five more names to educate the uninformed.

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Author
Aaron Grincewicz
Games are in my DNA. I've played video games since the 80's on my Atari. Whether it's playing them, talking, writing, or even drawing fan art of my favorite characters, I love it all. I've been proud to call myself a gamer since before it was cool and I will continue to do so for as long as I can.