How one of the largest employers in the gaming industry are diversifying the gaming sector

Nina Mueller, Head of Publishing at Goodgame Studios delves into how they are diversifying the gaming sector.

With over 500 million registered users worldwide and a team which spans more than 40 nations, Goodgame Studios is one of the largest employers in the gaming software industry. Nina Mueller spearheads their innovative free-to-play online games for both web and mobile platforms.

How did you navigate your career journey?

I never had a specific profession in mind. It was during an internship where I properly fell in love with the gaming industry, and I’ll probably stay here until I retire.

Over the past years when most industries were suffering, gaming was an industry that was thriving. How has the sector changed over this time?

The whole space has grown a lot, there’s now much more pressure to stand out with your product. COVID-19 introduced a lot more people to gaming on the player side, meaning now the market is much more diverse and many teams are now producing high-quality products. It was also cheap to buy users back then, so if you lost them because your game wasn’t good enough then it wasn’t a big loss. Fast forward to today and it’s far more difficult to buy those users at a good price and ensure you’re delivering the highest level of quality.

What do you think businesses can do to support women in the gaming industry?

I believe there are numerous women interested in the gaming industry, but they are sometimes discouraged by the fact it’s considered to be male- dominated. Introducing female gaming programmes and courses at school would be a great start. If we could push diversity by encouraging females into trying topics, then there’s a higher chance they will fall in love with the subject matter, and hopefully stick with it.

Looking back over your 10 years in the gaming industry, what stands out to you as your biggest learns over this time?  

Something that stood out to me during the beginning of my leadership career was how important it is to ensure your teams trust you as their leader. It’s important to be authentic, transparent, and human in your responses. People will be more open and honest with you if you still have your emotions.

Keeping time aside for your team is equally important. Leadership roles often take up a lot of your time and it’s easy to confuse working overtime as a compensation for the lack of time spent with your team. This is when you need to take a step back and have some free time for yourself. If you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of your team.

How do you go about making sure you have a good work-life balance?

Prioritization is key. You don’t have to deal with every request immediately. It’s important to remember that people won’t get angry at you for doing this. Be honest with yourself when setting your boundaries and fill your free time with things that give you energy. I use sports as a stress relief – it gives you a different social life outside of work and that’s also important. Take yourself away, recharge the batteries and come back with enough energy for everyone.

What are you most excited about in the gaming industry?

There’s a chance for everyone to get famous. People don’t need a big publisher anymore; Kickstarter campaigns, publishing games on Steam, these can work just as well. The space is getting more crowded, which does mean it can be difficult to get noticed but there’s still so much great talent coming through.

What are the biggest challenges facing the sector right now? 

The marketing side can be difficult. We need to understand what people want to play, what the best practice is and what innovation comes from that. It’s not a case of constantly redoing the same things, but instead finding something that provides the next fun trend. Sometimes things work a lot better than others and that can be difficult to discover, but it’s an interesting journey.

How do you go about attracting the best talent and what elements are vital in such a competitive marketplace?

The companies that make the most money don’t always pay the best salary. We offer something different – direct feedback from the end users. Working closely with the community, seeing how users perceive your product, how they talk about it, what they like and don’t like about it. This feedback is a satisfying process, it makes employees feel good about themselves and it makes overcoming difficult times easier.

How have you focused on your own personal development through your career?

If I have questions, I find the answers through reading and talking to people, gaining a different perspective. I like to actively ask for feedback from my teams and that’s helped my development too.