Mentioned in this article Teams: Counter Logic Gaming Games: Overwatch

Racing games developer SimBin has announced a new gaming competition exclusively for women.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Prizes include varied video game racing accessories such as a €3,000 Racing Simulator chair and, interestingly, life coaching packages.[/perfectpullquote]

“Women and Wheels” will be launched through Steam, and take place later this year. Prizes include varied video game racing accessories such as a €3,000 Racing Simulator chair and, interestingly, life coaching packages.

SimBin is launching the competition with the specific interest in mind of further promoting the involvement of women in competitive gaming and esports. An unannounced percentage of proceeds from the event will go towards “female-focused charities.”

SimBin’s Studio Head Allan Speed offered that 7% of competitors in the developer’s racing games are female, and professed that the number should rise through bringing more attention to women in esports and creating better environments in which they can participate.

Speed gave a statement on the upcoming event:

“Everyone could see that Women and Wheels is all about doing good while feeling good. It’s got high-octane racing fun, it’s building a supportive environment for women to develop their racing skills and confidence, and it’s donating to charity too. It’s a real game changer.”

While female participation in gaming has grown significantly with the growth of the broader video game industry, the number of women directly involved in esports remains low. This is particularly true when it comes to competition. Only a small number of women have managed to compete at the highest professional levels of popular esports titles over the years.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]SimBin’s Studio Head offered that 7% of competitors in the developer’s racing games are female, and professed that the number should rise.[/perfectpullquote]

Some event organizers, perhaps most notably in Counter-Strike events, have tried running female competitions sidelong to their main competitions whose participants tend to be wholly male. Scattered as they are, these events have done little to make a dent in the overall gender disparity in professional gaming.

Some female teams, such as Counter Logic Gaming’s Red squad, have emerged. Kim “Geguri” Se-yeon became the first female Overwatch player in OGN’s APEX league. But such teams and players have been the exception, not the rule.

The competition was announced at London’s European Women in Games Conference. Women in Games CEO Marie-Claire Isaaman offered her support in a statement: