Virtuos is our Creative Impact Award sponsor for the Women in Games Awards, taking place on March 4th!

We are delighted to once again host the Women in Games Awards, and we are even happier that this year’s event is taking place in person – 26 Leake Street London on Friday March 4th 2022!

It was great seeing you back in September at our last event, and we can’t wait to come together again and celebrate the amazing talent in our industry.

None of which would be possible without the support of our sponsors. And in that spirit, we would like to take the time to celebrate Virtuos, who we are proud to have supporting the Creative Impact award.

We reached out to Minny Abels, Global HR Director at Virtuos, for more.

Minny Abels, Global HR Director at Virtuos

What is the appeal of sponsoring the Women in Games Awards, especially in 2022?

We share MCV/DEVELOP’s belief in the importance of recognising and celebrating outstanding women in the games industry. Sponsoring the Women in Games Awards is a way for us to demonstrate our commitment and do our part in increasing diversity and inclusion, both within Virtuos and our wider industry. 

Why the Creative Impact award in particular?

The Creative Impact award recognises creative achievements in the form of project successes and how nominees supported their teammates to fulfil their potential. That is a perfect match to our Virtuos purpose of making games better, together.

How important is it that Virtuos supports the efforts of women working in the games industry?

We believe that having more women in our company and the industry would lead to more diverse skillsets, perspectives, and the creation of even better games. At Virtuos, it is our responsibility to not only make games better, but to also help make great places for talent to work and thrive in.

Diversity and education are core values of our corporate social responsibility practice as an equal opportunity employer. We see education as an important pathway towards increased gender equality in the games industry, as it empowers young women and removes a barrier to entry. 

Our efforts are diverse across studios worldwide – in Ho Chi Minh City, for instance, we launched the Women Game Changers Scholarship in partnership with the University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City (UA HCMC)’s Faculty of Industrial Design and Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts (HCMC UFA)’s Department of Industrial Art. In addition to financial support, scholarship recipients receive mentorship from our teams in the forms of coaching on career orientation, building of personal portfolios, and insights into game and film production. 

In Dublin, we similarly organize portfolio workshops and provide job application advice. And in China, we regularly partner local colleges to run open days at our studios to introduce students to the possibilities of working in games and at Virtuos – particularly with the hopes of inspiring new generations of female industry talent.

How else are you supporting Women in Games?

We are a Women in Games Corporate Ambassador and founding donor to Women in Animation’s Global Fund, contributing to concerted efforts to help make gender equity and parity a lasting reality in the industry. 

About Chris Wallace

Chris is a freelancer writer and was MCV/DEVELOP's staff writer from November 2019 until May 2022. He joined the team after graduating from Cardiff University with a Master's degree in Magazine Journalism. He can be found on Twitter at @wallacec42, where he mostly explores his obsession with the Life is Strange series, for which he refuses to apologise.

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