Skip to main content

Google Play’s Change the Game is here to empower women in mobile gaming

Change the Game
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In an effort to shed light on the underrepresentation of women in mobile gaming — within the industry, culture, and marketing — Android and Google Play are working to push forth impactful initiatives to help make a change. Next in the lineup is Change the Game — an interactive online experience that walks you through the relationship between women and mobile games in the United States.

Past initiatives have included Google’s series of summer camps called Girls Make Games, where young girls learned about programming and game design. Another was a mobile game development program, through which the winners were given all the resources needed to make their games a reality on Google Play.

Women With Byte looks at the many contributions women have made to technology past and present, the hurdles they faced (and overcame), and the foundations for the future they’ve laid for the next generations.
Women With Byte Keyart 2021

Before launching Change the Game, product leads behind the initiative wanted to first learn more about the experiences and perceptions of female mobile players. With little research available on the subject, they partnered with gaming intelligence provider Newzoo to gather data and reach out to experts.

“It was really important for us to look at everything holistically. So, because there are so many different complex challenges when we’re talking about where we are right now, we wanted to be really careful that we weren’t drawing conclusions about women as a whole … rather, taking one step back and putting it in context of culture, and history of the industry,” Google product marketing manager Kate Brennan told Digital Trends.

The study found that not only do 65 percent of women in the U.S. play mobile games, but 43 percent of them play more than five days a week — compared to 38 percent of men. Most of the women that make up these statistics use mobile gaming as a way to relieve stress or as a form of entertainment and relaxation while at home.

Change the Game will act as a hub that hosts all of the information pertaining to women in mobile in gaming — from the research, to a short film, and specifically curated games on the Google Play Store. The data that’s currently available is only the first step, with plans on continuing to build and publish additional research on the site in the future.

When you arrive on the Change the Game website, you’ll see a link to “play the game.” Once you click on it, you’ll be brought to the interactive experience, where you’ll have an avatar to move through different worlds and learn about all the research that was found.

When you’re done playing and back on the landing page, there will be a link to the short film put together. It ultimately celebrates all types of women, and encourages viewers to be a part of the game — regardless of age, size, race, or sexual orientation.

There’s also collection of games that include female protagonists on Google Play’s Indie Corner. Ranging from Monument Valley 2 to Lumino City, each game puts the female front and center.

It’s no secret that women are commonly placed as secondary characters in gaming, which makes it tough for females to find a game to become invested in. While this initiative won’t be revolutionary in changing the mobile gaming industry as a whole, it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

Editors' Recommendations

Brenda Stolyar
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brenda became obsessed with technology after receiving her first Dell computer from her grandpa in the second grade. While…
Google loses landmark antitrust lawsuit against Epic Games
Tinder on the GooglePlay App Store.

Google has lost a landmark case against Epic Games after a jury decided on Monday that the web giant operates an illegal monopoly via its Android app store.

The decision was announced at the end of a month-long trial that itself was part of a longer legal dispute between Google and Epic Games that’s been rumbling on since 2020.

Read more
Sony’s latest partnership is a big move for PlayStation’s mobile future
A PS5 sits on a table.

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) revealed its next big gaming partnership, and it's with a somewhat unexpected company. The game developer and publisher in question is NCSoft, a Korean company best known for its work on MMO series, namely Guild Wars and Lineage.

According to a press release, the two companies have entered into a partnership that enables them to "collaborate in various global business fields, including mobile." We asked Sony if the phrasing of "various global business fields" also applied to console games, but a representative for the company said it doesn't have anything else to share on that front currently.

Read more
PlayStation Plus is getting a major price hike following Game Pass changes
PlayStation Plus art highlighting the essential, extra, and premium tiers.

Sony confirmed that 12-month subscriptions for PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, and Premium will all see price increases alongside the reveal of September's new Essential games on the PlayStation Blog.
Starting on September 6, 12 months of PS Plus Essential goes up in price from $60 to $80, PS Plus Extra's yearly price increases from $100 to $135, and an annual subscription to PS Plus Premium will rise from $120 to $160. 

Sony says it needs to increase the price of all three versions of PlayStation Plus "to continue bringing high-quality games and value-added benefits to your PlayStation Plus subscription service" and that buying a 12-month subscription is still cheaper than subscribing to any of the shorter-term plans over the same period of time. The price hikes comes just a couple of months after Microsoft raised the price of Xbox Game Pass. 
When it comes to the games PS Plus Essential subscribers can expect this month, first up is Saints Row, a 2022 reboot of an open-world crime franchise that garnered mixed reviews upon its release. Next is Generation Zero, an open-world sci-fi shooter where players fight evil machines. Finally, those who have not already purchased a version of the MMO Black Desert on PS4 can redeem Black Desert - Traveler Edition, which comes with some additional items; if you have bought a version of Black Desert, you can just redeem the Traveler Item Pack.

Read more