The Gaming Industry – what challenges does it face?
The gaming industry continues to grow, meaning more gaming & immersive professionals will have plenty to say on the challenges faced. A global industry like this is always going to have obstacles to overcome. It’s not just about what is going on inside the industry either – global issues will also come into play.
In our 2023 gaming & immersive Survey, we asked the respondents to share their insights on many different topics. Having looked through their responses, we want to highlight what we believe to be challenges the industry will need to overcome in the next few years.
Gaming industry challenges revealed!
So, what are gaming professionals concerned about within the industry? Using our survey and the observations shared by respondents, here are some potential challenges within gaming & immersive.
Do gaming professionals respect their leadership teams?
The industry is constantly evolving, which means leadership teams must truly lead from the front. However, when we asked respondents what skills were in short supply, leadership was the number one option with 67%. That is a significant number of people who believe leadership skills are lacking in their company. Does this highlight a lack of strong leadership and therefore a lack of respect for those in charge of departments? For projects to succeed, perhaps gaming studios must start with better training for those in leadership roles.
What other skills are in short supply?
Following on from the above, there were other skills that respondents believed could be better represented. Programming was chosen by 43%, while design was chosen by 33%. Both are critical skills within this industry, so it is surprising to see a high number of people believe there is a skills shortage. Are those who hold these skills staying in their current company, making it harder to hire? Another challenge therefore is to strengthen talent acquisition strategies to target not only active candidates, but passive candidates too.
There is a long way to go for diversity & inclusion…
This is a prevalent topic in 2023 for many professional industries. However, just because people are talking about it doesn’t mean things are being done to improve it. Our respondents certainly share this sentiment – only 25% of respondents feel that those with disabilities are represented in their company. Religion and age diversity were also highlighted as an issue. It doesn’t end there…when scoring the diversity of the leadership team out of ten, the average score was 4.2/10. Considering how large this industry is, it is a surprisingly low figure. We took a deeper dive into representation and diversity in the immersive & gaming industry, so be sure to check it out!
Will gaming workloads become too much to handle?
Well-being and mental health is another important topic. Steps towards helping employees are definitely being made. 100% of respondents shared that they have access to flexible working, which is great to see. However, only 33% believed they had realistic workloads. Allowing flexibility is great, but can employees really make the most of it if their workloads are too demanding? So, another conversation that needs to be had is ensuring that all employees are comfortable with their duties and not suffering with heavy workloads in silence.
Looking for more gaming and recruitment insights?
The digital industry insights are just a snapshot of the full report! For even more insights, download a free copy of the 2023 gaming & immersive salary survey. You can also explore the latest gaming jobs or submit a vacancy.
