Celebrating International Women's Day At Beyond-FX

The gaming industry has seen a surge of talented and trailblazing women who are leaving an indelible mark. From creative visionaries to technical masterminds, these influential figures are inspiring the next generation. Today on International Women's Day we celebrate their remarkable journeys, groundbreaking contributions, and the lasting impact they've had in shaping the world of gaming. Their stories are a testament to the power of perseverance, innovation, and unwavering passion. #IWD2024 #InspireInclusion

‍Connie Booth

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With over 3 decades of incredible experience, Connie Booth became a mainstay at Sony and PlayStation Studios, working as an Executive Producer, Vice-President of Product Development, and Head of Internal Production. With a passion for promoting new talent and a desire to encourage creativity, Connie’s legacy is undeniable after contributing to titles such as Crash Bandicoot, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, and Marvel’s Spider-Man. 

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Ariko Kimoto

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As a powerhouse of Nintendo, Ariko Kimoto has become a significant voice in the 3rd Party and partner management space, and was previously Head of Portfolio management for the company. With her experiences extending to titles such as Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order and LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins, Ariko has utilized her knowledge to contribute to Women in Games International as an influential board member. 

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Amy Hennig 

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Amy Hennig’s legacy speaks for itself. As a writer and director, Amy has curated fantastical worlds, with previous projects benefiting from her stunning imagination and eye for detail. From Uncharted to Forspoken, Hennig is one of the most sought after storytellers working today, and has been recognized with a BAFTA, and a Lifetime Achievement award from Game Developers Choice Awards. Amy is now Co-President at Skydance New Media, continuing to shape the industry. 

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Dona Bailey

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A Women in Gaming Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Dona Bailey is a pioneer and was the software developer and software engineer on Centipede. Dona was the only woman at Atari when she first began her career in video games, but after leaving the company, she inspired future storytellers as an educator at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and as a public speaker.  

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Roberta Williams

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Roberta Williams is synonymous with Sierra On-Line, a video game developer and publisher which she co-founded. As a talented designer and writer, Roberta contributed titles like the King’s Quest series and Mystery House to the studio’s storied history. A Computer Gaming World Hall of Famer, and an industry icon, Roberta demonstrated her extraordinary range of talents in every role she seamlessly stepped into. 

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Jacinda Chew

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Insomniac Games continues to produce gorgeous-looking titles, and Jacinda Chew is a huge reason for that. Jacinda has worn many hats during her time with Insomniac across the art department, and worked on games like Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction, Sunset Overdrive, and the Marvel’s Spider-Man series. As the current Senior Art Director it’s fair to say that the company’s future exports are in very safe hands. 

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Joanie Kraut 

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Joanie Kraut is absolutely dedicated to improving the gaming industry through her support of an astounding array of organizations including Rainbow Unicorn Games, Esports Insider, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, and most significantly, Women in Games International. Currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of WIGI, Joanie was named the Most Influential CEO of 2023 in California for Computer and Video Games for a reason.

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Rebecca Dixon 

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Rebecca Dixon’s background was in the educational events and toys and games industry,  but she turned her attention to the video game landscape with the creation of the game*HERs. As co-founder and CEO of the platform, Rebecca has helped to form a vitally important safe and encouraging community for women in gaming to connect, support one another, and thrive.  

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Verta Maloney

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Rebecca did not embark on that journey alone. Verta Maloney is the current managing director of Percapita, Co-Founder of 45 Lemons, Founding Member of Civics Unplugged, and Co-Founder and Board Member of the*gameHERs. Verta is dedicated to empowering individuals to excel in their respective fields, with her game-changing work touching on vital conversations surrounding race, identity, and gender. 

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Soe Gschwind

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You’ll instantly recognize the charismatic Soe Gschwind due to her time as an on-air personality and host. While also working as a caster, Soe has become a major influencer, interviewer, commentator, and all-around icon working with both Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH and Blizzard Entertainment. Her enthusiastic presentation style and deep knowledge have helped to cement Soe as a must-watch persona. 

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Kellee Santiago

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Kellee Santiago has always promoted innovation in every facet of her career. Not only has she served in senior roles for companies like Niantic, E-Line Media, and Google, she is also the Co-Founder and former President of thatgamecompany. Kelee’s work has recently been influenced by her interest in VR and AR, but she is constantly looking for ways to support the indie community, and currently acts as a vital Partner to IndieFund. 

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Siobhan Reddy

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After firmly establishing herself as a Senior Development Manager at Criterion Games, Siobhan Reddy has spent over 18 years guiding Media Molecule as both an Executive Producer, and eventually as a Studio Director. With games like LittleBigPlanet, and Tearaway on her award-winning résumé, Siobhan has been persistent in her mission to increase the opportunities available to women in the industry, while spearheading titles designed with a female audience in mind.  

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Bonnie Ross

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From General Manager, to Head of 343 Industries which she has recently departed, and Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, it’s hard to imagine how Bonnie Ross could be more influential to Xbox’s success. Ross oversaw the creation and continued success of the Halo franchise, one of the most important series in gaming history. As one of the most powerful women in the industry, Bonnie used her position to champion further diversity in the work space. 

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Kiki Wolfkill 

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Kiki Wolfkill has helped shape Microsoft and Xbox as an Executive Producer and Studio Head at 343 Industries, overseeing titles such as Halo 4. Wolfkill now serves as Head of Xbox IP Expansion and Entertainment, and is even a credited Producer on the Halo TV series, demonstrating her impressive ability to cross mediums. 

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Jade Raymond 

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As if contributing to the creation of both the Assassin’s Creed and Watch Dogs franchises weren’t enough, Jade Raymond has continued to excel in the industry in senior roles for companies like EA, Ubisoft, and Google. As the Founder and CEO of Haven Studios, Jade led her team into an acquisition by Sony, with the company becoming a first-party developer of original and exciting titles for PlayStation Studios. 

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Annette Gonzalez Porter

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From working in games journalism, to acting as Brand Manager at PlayStation, Annette Gonzalez Porter has been on an incredible journey. Annette is currently the Program Manager for the ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program, empowering underrepresented game developers by providing them with the resources they need to thrive. 

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Jennie Kong

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Jennie Kong continues to rise through the industry as a trusted writer and storyteller. Jennie previously worked with thatgamecompany, and recently wrote on Homestead Arcana for Skybound Games. Jennie’s talent is blatant on credits like Sky: Children of the Light and Desta: The Memories Between, but she has also stepped behind the camera as a director on the thoughtful documentary, The Game Makers: Inside Story. 

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Mabel Addis 

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Mabel Addis has the extraordinary distinction of being the first ever video game writer. As an educator and talented wordsmith, Addis set about creating an educational title with IBM, which would evolve to become the text-based strategy, The Sumerian Game. Without her work, the strategy genre and industry as a whole would look very different. 

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Danielle Bunten Berry

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Danielle Bunten Berry is now an Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Famer, and a Computer Game Developers Lifetime Achievement Award winner for a reason. Danielle pioneered in the multiplayer space with 10 of her 12 video game titles expanding this gameplay style. Danielle worked as a game designer and programmer most notably on M.U.L.E., with titles such as The Seven Cities of Gold rounding out an exceptional run. 

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Christy Marx

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Versatility is the optimum word to describe Christy Marx. Christy has crafted an impressive filmography as a writer, and has even moved over to published works in comics and books. But in the video game world Christy used those experiences to serve as a narrative designer on such titles as Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail, and The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. There are very few people who can continue to seamlessly switch between these storytelling styles as Christy Marx. 

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Carol Shaw 

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Carol Shaw paved the way for female game designers, as one of the earliest women to step into the industry in this position. Carol worked with influential studios like Atari, Inc. and Activision, and most notably created River Raid. Carol is so instrumental in the evolution of the industry, and was rightfully recognized as a Industry Icon at The Game Awards. 

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Joyce Weisbecker

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Joyce Weisbecker is a pioneer. Joyce was the first female commercial video game designer, stepping into the role in 1976, and producing titles for the RCA Studio II, and RCA COSMAC VIP.  Creating games like Speedway and Tag, Joyce pushed the limitations of the technology, before moving on to the next stage of her life as a radar signal processing engineer. 

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Rebecca Heineman

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In 1980 Rebecca Heineman won the National Space Invaders Championship, making her the first recognized national video game tournament champion in history. Not only has Rebecca since been inducted into the International Video Game Hall of Fame, but she’s worked as a designer and programmer on major titles like the Doom 3DO port, Wolfenstein 3D 3DO port, and incredibly, founded Interplay Productions, Logicware, Contraband Entertainment, and Olde Sküül. 

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Tracy Fullerton

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Tracy Fullerton has spent her career educating, writing and video game designing. She currently sits as a Professor of Interactive Media & Games at the University of Southern California, and as a Director at Game Innovation Lab. But Tracy also co-founded Spider-Dance Inc., and is most well-known for creating The Night Journey, alongside the award-winning experimental title, Walden, a game which was named Game Of The Year at the Games for Change awards. 

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Jane Jensen

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There isn’t much that Jane Jensen doesn’t know about narrative design in video games. With a career as an author and video game designer, Jane has directed and written an impressive array of titles, from EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus, right up to Moebius: Empire Rising. As the creator of Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, Jane’s work will always be associated with quality storytelling. 

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Ellen Beeman

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Ellen Beeman has worked on over 40 games across her career, and found the time to publish 4 novels as well! Ellen currently uses her valuable time to teach the next generation as Associate Professor at the DigiPen Institute of Technology, but continues to add to her impressive credits which includes games like Wing Commander: The Secret Missions, and The Matrix Online. 

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Lori Cole

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Lori Cole is a game designer, director, writer, and voice actor, and is predominantly known for co-creating and preserving the Quest For Glory saga. Lori has partnered with various studios like Far Studios, Transolar Games, Sierra On-line, and Legend Entertainment where she made Shannara. In recent years Lori continued to explore alternative approaches to funding, launching the 2D RPG Hero-U on Kickstarter. 

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Keiko Erikawa

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Keiko Erikawa is the current Chairperson of Koei Tecmo Holdings, a company she co-founded in 1978. Keiko’s influence on Koei is extraordinary, as she pioneered in the Otome game genre, launching Angelique in 1994, which helped to push video game development to appeal to a female audience. 

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Kim Swift 

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Kim Swift worked at a who’s who of video game studios like EA and Xbox Game Studios Publishing, where she currently serves as the Head of Creative. Kim’s career today has been hugely shaped by her time at Valve, where she contributed to titles like Left 4 Dead and notably Portal, where she was the lead designer. Plus, Kim later joined Airtight Games, a beloved studio known for Quantum Conundrum among other hits. 

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Anna Anthropy 

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Anna Anthropy is an innovator at heart and her time working on video games, interactive novels, and tabletop RPGs demonstrates her skills and unique style. Princess with a Cursed Sword, Redder, When Pigs Fly, and Tavern At The End Of The World, are just a few examples of Anna’s creativity as a designer and writer. 

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Sarah Bond 

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Sarah Bond has been on a dominant run, leaving T-Mobile as the Senior Vice President  of Emerging Businesses, and joining Xbox where she currently serves as President. Sarah’s wisdom and guidance has allowed her to sit on the board of brands like Chegg Inc., Zuora, Entertainment Software Association, and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Sarah is a master strategist, and is responsible for exceptional ecosystem growth at Microsoft. 

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Christine Burgess-Quémard

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Christine Burgess-Quémard is a Woman In Games Hall of Famer, and former Executive Director of Worldwide Studios at Ubisoft. Her time at the studio covered titles like Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, and Far Cry 6, and Christine built a reputation as a fundamental part of the studio’s continued success. 

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Nadine Martin

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For over 23 years Nadine Martin has contributed to the quality growth at Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe, and PlayStation Studios. Nadine still serves as Senior Manager of Test Services, and boasts an outstanding record that includes Marvel Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon: Forbidden West, and God of War: Ragnarök. 

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Marie-Claire Isaaman

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Women In Games has already been mentioned a handful of times, and it plays such a critical role. Marie-Claire Isaaman is the current CEO of WIG, and a trustee of the British Games Institute. Marie-Claire is so passionate about diversity in the industry, and passes on her experience through her role as a Consultant for organizations like the London College of Communication, and London College of Contemporary Arts.

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Christine Chua 

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Christine Chua has immersed herself in the recruitment world. She’s the Head of Talent Acquisition at thatgamecompany, but goes above and beyond to open doors to new creators. Christine is an Ambassador for Women In Games, People, Talent and Culture Advisor at !yay Advisory and Consulting, and Mentor for Talent & Recruiting at First Round Fast Track. Christine’s eye for talent is impeccable. 

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Anne Westfall

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Having worked at Epyx as a video game developer and publisher, Anne Westfall left to co-find Free Fall Associates, which has a vision to be an altogether different studio. Known for Archon and Archon II, Anne oversaw a handful of titles and went on to contribute her knowledge as a board member for the Computer Game Developers Conference. 

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Rebb Ford 

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Rebb Ford has worked at Digital Extremes since 2011 and has risen through the studio, to eventually become Creative Director. Rebecca currently oversees Warframe, and is consistently hitting new milestones as a visionary mind, with ambitious goals for the title. 

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Brenda Laurel 

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Brenda Laurel approached the video game industry very differently, becoming an interactive designer and consultant for studios like Sony and Apple. Not only is she a pioneer of Virtual Reality, but she also is a Co-Founder of Purple Moon, a studio specifically designed to craft games for a young female audience. As an educator, Brenda has taught the next generation, and founded multiple media and design programs across the country. 

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Doris Self 

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Doris Self was a documentary star, World Record holder, and talented video game competitor. She held the record as the world’s oldest video game champion, becoming a Q*bert expert. She consistently sought to regain her title, and spent the rest of her life perfecting her technique like a true warrior of the controller. 

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Megan Fox 

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Megan Fox is the Founder and champion of Glass Bottom Games, a studio that has built a niche for crafting absurdly memorable titles. After previously working with NetDevil, Megan has excelled with projects like SkateBIRD, Spartan Fist, Hot Tin Roof and Jones On Fire. 

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Lena Raine 

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Lena Raine has worked as a video game developer, as well as a producer, but she has also uniquely composed the music for many significant titles, making her an absolute all-rounder. She thus holds a variety of credits on games like Minecraft, ESC and Celeste, the latter of which earned Lena nominations at the BAFTAs and the Game Awards for her scores. 

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Ayami Kojima 

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Ayami Kojima’s artwork is breathtaking. She has taken her immense abilities and applied them to the video game world, working with Konami on the artwork and character design for the Castlevania series. Her nuance and recognizable style has given the franchise its all-important identity.

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Corrinne Yu 

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Corrinne Yu is a game programmer and has the unique distinction of being one of the few directors of technology and engine programmer, that has ever been named as an Influential Woman in Gaming. While she might have won a prize for her research in nuclear physics elsewhere in her career, Corrinne has also worked on major titles like Halo 4, Quake 2, and King’s Quest. 

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Sheri Graner Ray 

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EA, Origin Systems, Cartoon Network, Sony: Sheri Graner Ray’s résumé is packed full of impressive studios, where she has served as a computer game designer. Sheri helped to create Women In Games International, won a Game Developers Choice Awards attributed to her work on women’s interests, and authored the book Gender Inclusive Game Design: Expanding The Market demonstrating her inspiring approach to making the industry that much more inclusive. 

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Brenda Romero 

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Storied game designer and programmer Brenda Romero is a Women in Gaming Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, and a highly commended creative mind. Most well-known for her work on Wizardry 8 and Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes, Brenda is also a writer and educator, and has been a consistent voice of encouragement to students throughout universities across the United States. 

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Robin Hunicke

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Designer and producer Robin Hunicke is currently working at ErlyBerd, but previously served as a Co-Founder and CEO of Funomena. While her impressive CV includes positions at thatgamecompany where she was Executive Producer on Journey, and EA, Robin also took time out to act as Professor of Games & Playable Media at UC Santa Cruz. From Glitch to MySims, Robin has been at the forefront of a variety of major IPs! 

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Mary DeMarle

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Mary DeMarle currently sits as the Senior Narrative Director at EA/BioWare and it’s obvious to see why the studio began this collaboration. As a writer, Mary is impeccable, and has worked on games like Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and Homeworld 2, where she has showcased her talent for finding very human stories in absurd sci-fi worlds. 

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Meagan Marie

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Meagan Marie is a fantastic example of how a set of skills can be applied to multiple roles. Meagan was previously a gaming journalist, working for platforms like Game Informer, before becoming a Community Manager at Crystal Dynamics and Riot Games. Meagan also worked on a number of industry books with Prima Games like Women in Gaming: 100 Pioneers of Play. 

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Sam Maggs

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Sam Maggs writes books, comics and of course video games, and is extremely adept at moving between these mediums. Insomniac Games, BioWare, Gearbox, Aspyr: the list of incredible studios Sam has collaborated with continues to go on. Sam has been trusted with major brands as a storyteller who can protect those properties, but still has something crucial to say. 

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Wren Brier

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Wren Brier’s most notable work came as the Creative Director of the award-winning Unpacking, but her time in the industry extends beyond this notable project. Wren is a member of GDC Independent Games Summit Advisory Board, and runs Women in Games Brisbane, after previously supporting Australian studios like Valhalla Studios, Bane Games, Halfbrick, and PlaySide as a valuable team member. 

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Mary Kenney 

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Mary Kenney was previously a writer with Kotaku, and then went on to become a narrative designer and writer with Telltale Games, Certain Affinity, and Techland. Mary continues to lecture at Indiana University Bloomington, but when she’s not teaching she is working as Associate Narrative Director at Insomniac Games, for upcoming titles like Marvel’s Wolverine. Mary is on an upward trajectory and there’s no telling what she might achieve next.

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Bryanna Lindsey

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Bryanna Lindsey has continuously moved up through the industry, from VFX Artist to Lead, and then Manager. She is credited on titles like The Elder Scrolls Online, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, and now Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. The sky's the limit for Bryanna’s career moving forward post-Insomniac. 

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Maddy Thorson

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Starting as a creator through GameMaker, under the title Maddy Makes Games, Maddy Thorson turned this passion into a career. The company eventually transformed into Extremely OK Games, which is currently working on Earthblade. With titles like Towerfall and Celeste to her name, Maddy has proven herself to be an experimental force with powerful vision. 

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Andrea Rene

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On-air personality and passionate gamer, Andrea Rene has seen and done it all. She’s the Co-Founder and Executive Producer of What’s Good Games, President of Shortie Media, and previous talent for GameStop, Yahoo, DEFY and Clevver, among so many others. Her ability to portray her charisma on screen, balanced with her keen eye for production quality, is a clear reason as to why Andrea has been so successful. 

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Russell Arons

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Russell Arons is a current Board Member for OGX Productions and Head of New Horizons at EA. She is a branding and marketing expert, and highly sought after in the industry. Double A Labs, Mattel, G4TV, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment are just a few of Russell’s previous employers, indicating just how extraordinary she is at bringing new identities to massive franchises. 

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