Roughly 45,000 people lost their jobs in the games industry between 2022 and mid-2025. Women made up 37% of those layoffs despite representing only 30% of the workforce. That is the backdrop against which the Women in Games Careers Expo 2026 takes place on March 26, and it is exactly why this year’s edition matters more than any that came before it.
What the Careers Expo actually is
The Women in Games Careers Expo is a free, global, online event that connects women and gender-diverse professionals with studios, publishers, and service providers across three time zones. It runs across APAC, EMEA, and the Americas on a cascading schedule, with on-demand access so participants anywhere in the world can attend. The event is hosted on RingCentral’s virtual platform and previous editions have drawn over 1,000 attendees.
This is not a conference in the traditional sense. The core of the event is the Virtual Expo Area, where attendees interact directly with company booths for CV feedback, portfolio reviews, Q&A sessions with hiring teams, and one-on-one career advice. Think of it less as a keynote marathon and more as a working career fair built around practical outcomes.
Registration is free, though donations are accepted. Premium tiers up to £30 offer additional access.
Why the 2026 theme hits differently
This year’s theme is “The Future of Work,” and that is not aspirational branding. It is a direct response to the structural upheaval the industry has endured. The programming covers AI-driven workflows, emerging roles that did not exist three years ago, leadership pathways for mid-career professionals, freelance and micro-studio career models, and the specific skills needed to navigate an industry that has fundamentally reorganized itself.
Dr. Marie-Claire Isaaman, CEO of Women in Games, framed the urgency directly: “The games industry is going through a profound transformation, and women are too often the first to feel the impact of instability, restructuring and bias. The Women in Games Careers Expo: The Future of Work is about turning that challenge into opportunity.”
That framing is backed by data. Take This, a mental health nonprofit focused on the games industry, found that women accounted for a disproportionate share of layoffs relative to their representation. The GDC’s 2025 State of the Game Industry survey reported that 41% of developers felt the impact of layoffs, with 11% being laid off directly. Narrative roles were hit hardest at 19%. The cuts did not fall evenly, and the recovery will not either.
The programming worth paying attention to
The first wave of confirmed speakers spans design directors, legal counsel, HR leadership, learning designers, and virtual production specialists. Notable names include Jo Haslam (Design Director at Snap Finger Click, BAFTA Breakthrough winner), Alexandra Berthold (legal counsel and entrepreneur focused on startup scaling), and Annika Stråth Roslund (CHRO at Beyond Frames Entertainment).
The session structure breaks into three formats:
| Format | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Keynotes | Industry-level perspective on where careers are heading |
| My Story Talks | Personal career narratives from professionals at different stages |
| Learning Labs | Practical, hands-on sessions covering AI tools, freelancing, portfolio building, and business skills |
The Learning Labs are the most operationally useful part of the event. These are not panels where people talk about the future in abstract terms. They are working sessions designed to give attendees specific skills and frameworks they can apply immediately.
What this event signals about the industry’s direction
The shift toward freelance and micro-studio career models is not a side note in this year’s programming. It is a headline. The GDC 2025 survey revealed that self-funding has become the primary way developers back their own games. Studio closures have pushed thousands of experienced professionals into independent work, not by choice but by necessity. Women in Games is responding to that reality by building an entire track around entrepreneurship, independent development, and business skills.
The AI track is equally significant. The same GDC survey found that 30% of developers believe generative AI is having a negative impact on the industry, a 12% increase from the prior year. But 52% of developers work at companies that have already implemented AI tools. The gap between skepticism and adoption is where career opportunity lives, and where workers without AI literacy risk being left behind. Women are particularly vulnerable here. Research from the WomenTech Network indicates that women adopt generative AI tools at lower rates than men, often due to concerns about ethics and trust, creating a compounding disadvantage in an industry that is integrating these tools regardless.
The event details
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Date | March 26, 2026 |
| Time | 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM (cascading across APAC, EMEA, Americas) |
| Format | Online (RingCentral platform) |
| Cost | Free (donations welcome, premium tiers up to £30) |
| Registration | Open now |
Timing that amplifies the signal
The Careers Expo lands on the same day PAX East 2026 begins in Boston and the same week GDC 2026 wraps in San Francisco. That is not a coincidence: Women in Games is positioning this event inside the densest week on the gaming calendar, ensuring maximum visibility at the exact moment when the industry’s attention is already focused on careers, networking, and the future direction of game development.
For professionals re-entering the industry after a layoff, pivoting into freelance work, or simply trying to understand what skills will matter in 2027 and beyond, this is the most accessible entry point available. No travel required, no badge cost, no gatekeeping.
The games industry spent two years cutting. And the question now is whether it will rebuild with the same people it let go, or whether the talent pipeline that took a decade to diversify gets quietly abandoned. Events like this are where that answer starts to take shape.
Is the industry’s push toward freelance and micro-studio models a genuine new career path for displaced professionals, or just a polite way of saying the traditional employment safety net is gone?
