After any normal year, this would be a period of reflection in the games press — an opportunity to look back on the previous 12 months, analysing the biggest deals, the emerging trends, the surprise successes, and the regrettable mistakes.

Well, 2020 was many things, but most would agree that it was anything but normal.

Between the anger and protest that followed the killing of George Floyd last May, the wave of abuse allegations that started in June and touched every corner of the industry, and the COVID-19 pandemic that we continue to struggle against today, the appropriate way to reflect has been difficult, even impossible to define. None of these issues are solved simply because we’re in the first week of a brand new year — understanding the impact of these events will take time, and progress will require diligence and empathy, day by day.

As we do so, however, it is worth recognising the individuals and organisations that are already out there, making this industry a better place through their effort and actions. That is the driving idea behind Game Changers, the latest in our GI 100 series — if this year has highlighted many of the huge issues we must still overcome, the 100 profiles we published at the end of 2020 illustrated the work already being done to make this a more inclusive, accessible and egalitarian industry.

These profiles are the result of a months-long process involving influential figures from across the full breadth of the global games business. It is far from perfect — we tried to represent every region equally, but some proved more challenging than others for various reasons — and it is also not intended to be definitive. There are many more people who deserve recognition for the difference they make to this industry, in regions that we can do more to reach, and we hope to do just that in future editions of this list.

If you want to suggest a person or group for a future list, please do so by emailing editorial@gamesindustry.biz, with “Game Changers” as the subject line.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who nominated these individuals and groups, and especially to our first 100 Game Changers — their inspirational work paints a picture of what the road ahead can and should look like.

GI 100 | Game Changers is sponsored by Unreal Engine.