'I don't want to sit in a studio full of blokes'

Speaking with Official Xbox Magazine, Lionhead creative director Gary Carr said he anticipated a major surge in gender diversity within the games industry in the coming decade. "I think as developers, in terms of job applicants, we're noticing now that we're at last getting the diversity we want when you're coming up with a creative team," said Carr. "I think that five to ten years from now, it'll be pretty much 50-50." The numbers are optimistic (and off-the-cuff), but not totally unmotivated. Though OXM references Game Developer magazine's last Game Developer Salary Survey, which reported only four percent of game programmers are women, the Electronic Software Association's data suggests 45 percent of video game consumers are girls and women. Of course, changing the industry makeup will require more than player interest; it will require that the industry embrace an increasingly diverse demographic. Carr appeared aware of this, continuing: "I don't just want guys making games for guys. I want guys and girls making games for guys and girls." "You have to reflect that in your workforce, and it's starting to happen," he concluded.