Next Gen Leaders: why and how we launched our first mentorship program for women

Game development is one of the most exciting industries out there — fast-moving, creative, global. But like many tech-driven fields, it still has a long way to go when it comes to gender balance.

According to the 2025 GDC State of the Industry Report, 66% of game developers identify as men, while 25% identify as women and 6% as non-binary. The remaining percentage either chose not to disclose or selected another option. This means that women and non-binary professionals together make up 31% of the industry — a slight improvement from previous years, with female representation up from 23% in 2024, but still far from equal.

Support women. Grow leaders.

That’s why we launched Next Gen Leaders, Room 8 Group’s first internal mentorship program for women. The idea was simple: give women across the company space to connect, grow, and lead — with guidance from experienced mentors who’ve been there, done that, and want to lift others up. From the start, we wanted it to be personal, practical, and built around each participant’s strengths, goals, and vision for the future.

What it looked like

Between March and May 2025, we brought together:

• 11 mentors
• 23 mentees
• Participants from 10 countries — including Ukraine, the UK, Brazil, Poland, Romania, Cyprus, Armenia, Spain, Portugal, and Norway
• Over 50 hours of one-on-one mentorship sessions
• Fully remote, fully global

Each mentee worked closely with their mentor to create a tailored Growth Roadmap — a clear, personal guide to their development journey. The conversations covered career goals, leadership skills, confidence, communication, and more.

The feedback was clear — and energizing:

• 100% of mentees want the program to continue
• 90%+ say they now feel more confident about their career direction
• Average satisfaction: 9.5 out of 10
• Response rate: 85%

But even more powerful than the numbers were the personal reflections:

What’s next?

This wasn’t just a one-off initiative. It’s part of a bigger mission: to build an inclusive workplace where everyone has room to grow — no matter their background, role, or gender. Whether someone works in design, engineering, production, QA, or leadership, we believe they deserve the chance to be seen, heard, and supported. Next Gen Leaders was a step in that direction — and one we’re proud to take.