Showcasing Black-Created Games For Black History Month

Xbox has announced a partnership with Gameheads, a video game design program, to showcase Black-created games in recognition of Black History Month.

Black-Created Games

Dametra Johnson-Marletti, Corporate Vice President of Gaming Consumer Sales at Microsoft, announced the collaboration.

She stated that video games have the potential to be a platform to preserve shared history and honor the stories of people of color in an engaging way that can disarm defenses and build empathy and understanding.

“Games from underrepresented communities will not only feel like their voices are heard, but have a greater opportunity to see themselves and their history in the characters they explore,” said Johnson-Marletti.

“Similarly, designing games that reflect the diversity of our world and incorporate authentic narratives based on our shared history can promote an understanding of different lived experiences and build unity through gaming.”

The Collaboration

This new partnership comes after Xbox initially connected with Gameheads five years ago by providing mentorship, internships, and mental health services for students.

Gameheads help prepare student developers for a career in the games industry.

Now, the leading video game company is bringing visibility to its work with the theme of “Louder” to amplify students’ stories and preserve them.

The games that will be showcased are created by students and center around Black history, experiences, and talent.

“We want people to see our students,” Gameheads Founder and Executive Director Damon Packwood told AfroTech.

“We want to point out the connection between the work that we do, the quaint little boutique games that our students make, and how that can help lead them into careers in the tech and video game industry. Our students work on some of the industry’s top video games, such as “Tomb Raider,” “Valorant,” “Call of Duty,” “Psychonauts 2,” and more.”