Non-profit mental health organisation Take This has released a State of the Industry white paper outlining mental health concerns within game development.

Take This will spend the rest of the year researching the issues with developers, and encourages anyone working within the industry to share their related stories on social media using the hashtag #gameindustrystory.

The organisation has already identified a number of factors impacting mental health, including issues with public perception, inclusiveness and diversity, and stress in the workplace - with a particular focus on crunch.

A number of steps have been pointed out to help employers address the problems, most involving policy changes, leadership training around mental health awareness, and better business structures supporting inclusion in the workplace.

The paper also outlined areas of opportunity for further research regarding toxic behaviour in the games industry and how it affects junior and senior employees, women, POC and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Take This made a video explaining the State of the Industry paper and it is embedded below.

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Previously, the organisation created a white paper detailing the harmful effects of crunch on game developers and what steps need to be taken to make it a healthier practice.