IGDA Survey Shows Diversity and Job Stability Concerns

In this article, game designer Sande Chen relates the lack of progress on diversity and job stability, as indicated by the IGDA 2017 Developer Satisfaction Survey.

The IGDA's 2017 Developer Satisfaction Survey (DSS) was released last week (and can be downloaded here) and in it, you'll find that according to the data, the typical worker in the video game industry, whether freelance, self-employed, or employed, is a 30-something, white or multiracial with white, heterosexual, college-educated, married male without a disability or children.  According to the 2017 survey, 74% of respondents identified as male while 21% identified as female.  Despite growing interest in the importance of diversity, very little has translated into actual change at companies, as can be seen from the similar results on the 2014 DSS survey.  

The survey also provided a snapshot of an industry with constant job volatility.  Even though 70% of respondents were permanent employees, on average they had already switched employers twice within 5 years. This is consistent with surveys from prior years. And only 39% expected that they would stay with their current employer for 3 years or less. 53% reported that crunch time was expected at the company and employees would work anywhere from 50 hours to more than 70 hours a week during crunch.

Just like the permanent employees, freelancers or contractors who responded to the survey predominately had 6 years or less experience working in the industry. But unlike the permanent employees, freelancers tended to have a longer relationship with clients, which leads to the concern that freelancers may be de facto employees, just without benefits or regulatory rules. The IGDA believes there is a real danger of freelancers bearing the brunt of the development work without any protection from potential abuse.

Sande Chen is a writer and game designer whose work has spanned 10 years in the industry. Her credits include 1999 IGF winner Terminus, 2007 PC RPG of the Year The Witcher, and Wizard 101. She is one of the founding members of the IGDA Game Design SIG.