Open Innovation Factory: Inclusivity in Games

Photo: ekip

The Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) are at the forefront of technological innovation, often turning speculative ideas into transformative tools. To harness this potential, ekip’s Open Innovation Factories foster industry awareness of new methods for collaboration, ideation, and development, grounded in ekip’s original research and policy initiatives.

By bringing together creatives, technologists, and policymakers, Open Innovation Factories empower participants to shape vibrant and inclusive futures for the CCIs across Europe and beyond.

In March 2025, ekip hosted an Open Innovation Factory focused on inclusivity in the games industry and its role in driving innovation. Through a panel discussion followed by a rich interactive workshop, participants explored how inclusive principles can be applied in day-to-day professional practice.

Panel – Why Inclusivity Is the Key to Great Games

Chaired by Gemma Milne (Gecko Box), the panel brought together Luke Hebblethwaite (Head of Games, BAFTA), Jérôme Dupire (CapGames), Nikolina Finska (Rebel Studio), and Sophia Coney (Included Games / Out Making Games) to discuss challenges and best practices for fostering inclusivity and accessibility in the games industry.

The discussion highlighted inclusivity not as an abstract value, but as a concrete driver of innovation, better design, and stronger business outcomes.

What Is Inclusivity in Games?

The panel began by unpacking what inclusivity means in game design. Speakers emphasized inclusivity within companies and design teams creating environments where people feel safe, supported, and heard.

Inviting all staff to participate in decision-making fosters equitable workplaces and leads to healthier organizations. Drawing from her leadership experience, Nikolina Finska noted that this approach is not only ethical but also good business.

Inclusivity also extends to players. Games are played by an enormously diverse global audience, and both the people making games and the content within them should reflect that diversity. Inclusive teams are better positioned to design games with diverse on-screen representation, ensuring players can see themselves reflected in characters, stories, and worlds.

Finally, panelists stressed the importance of inclusive communities around games both online and offline where people feel safe and welcome to participate.

Where Is the Industry Today?

Panelists observed gradual improvements across Europe in diverse on-screen representation and increased momentum toward accessible and universal design.

However, this progress is under pressure. Political developments, particularly in the US, risk undermining gains made in recent years. Nikolina Finska shared concerns around operating a DEI-focused studio in the US, while Luke Hebblethwaite warned that extremist movements may increasingly target player communities.

Financial challenges also weigh heavily on the industry. Layoffs, studio closures, and heightened commercial pressures often place inclusivity practices at risk. Despite this, Jérôme Dupire emphasized that accessibility should not be treated as a costly add-on, but integrated into game design from the outset often at low or no additional cost.

The panel agreed that inclusivity opens access to new markets and strengthens long-term business sustainability.

Best Practices for Inclusive Innovation

Speakers shared concrete practices that help advance inclusivity. Sophia Coney highlighted the importance of empathy-led design teams and internal support networks such as women’s, BAME, or LGBTQ+ groups. Through Out Making Games, her organization supports companies in embedding these practices structurally.

Nikolina Finska argued for inclusivity as a daily practice rather than a top-down policy, encouraging multiple ways for staff to contribute to development processes. “The more voices you hear, the better decisions and products you make,” she noted.

Luke Hebblethwaite outlined BAFTA’s work to improve access to the industry, including workshops on authentic representation, accessibility tools, and outreach to underprivileged schools. He also referenced UKIE’s efforts to gather better data on inclusivity and diversity, while acknowledging the ongoing challenge of collecting reliable industry-wide data.

Education emerged as a recurring theme. Karolina stressed the importance of diversity in teaching and called for greater involvement from industry professionals in educational settings to model inclusive practices early in the talent pipeline.

Barriers to Inclusivity Through an Innovation Lens

Following the panel, participants joined an interactive online workshop exploring how open innovation can help overcome barriers to inclusivity in gaming.

Using Miro and ekip’s Open Innovation prompt cards, participants worked through a structured process that included:

• Narrowing focus into three areas: accessibility, workforce diversity, and in-game representation
• Defining inclusivity in practice within each context
• Identifying key challenges and barriers
• Applying open innovation approaches to address these barriers
• Consolidating learning into concrete take-away actions

Discussions highlighted both progress and risks. While awareness and accessibility guidelines are growing, participants noted concerns that existing protections may be eroded in the current political climate. Toolkits, shared standards, and interoperable frameworks were proposed as key solutions.

For workforce diversity, inclusive innovation hubs, education, training, and financial incentives were identified as critical drivers. Participants emphasized the need for better data to support targeted policy interventions.

In-game representation discussions focused on the importance of diverse teams and funding structures that support inclusive storytelling. Participants highlighted mentoring, education, cross-sector collaboration, and stakeholder involvement as ways to overcome fear and uncertainty around representation.

Inclusivity in Gaming – The Worksheet

To support continued learning and knowledge sharing, ekip developed a free, open-access worksheet:
Inclusivity in Games: a Critical Reflection Toolkit.

The worksheet provides reflection questions and prompts to help professionals assess how inclusive their games and organizations are across different stakeholder groups.

Reference:
Osborne, N., & McDonald, C. (2025). Inclusivity in Games: a Critical Reflection Toolkit. ekip.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15022367

Figure 2: the Inclusivity in Games Criticial Reflection Toolkit Cover

Key Conclusions

One key concluding question from a participant was “How do we get policymakers to treat gaming with the seriousness of other industries?” Getting policy-level backing for using inclusivity as a driving engine for innovation within the industry would certainly empower improvements across accessibility, workforce diversity, in-game representation and more. The ideas, thoughts and resources shared by participants will be analysed and included in our scoping documents for the forthcoming Inclusivity in Games Policy Lab taking place in May concurrent with TwitchCon, the world’s leading live-streaming festival.

A full how-to guide for running these Open Innovation Factory workshop activities and our Inclusivity in Games toolkit will be published in the ekip Knowledge Bank, and the video of the panel can be viewed here.