Happy Pride Month!

Next Games is proud to announce that we are once again part of Better Games Together, alongside Metacore, Supercell, and Rovio, and that, for the third year in a row, we are one of the main partners of Helsinki Pride.

Better Games Together will have its own truck and walking block in the Helsinki Pride March, allowing our colleagues to march together in joy and solidarity. We’ll also have a brand-new activation and lounge area in the Helsinki Pride Park Celebration, called the Friend Zone! At the Friend Zone, you can make new friends and meet new people through playing games, taking pictures in front of our photo wall, munching on some cotton candy, or simply come and have a casual chat. Everyone is welcome at the Friend Zone.

But, on top of Better Games Together and working with Helsinki Pride, what else does Next Games do to support our LGBTQIA+ colleagues?

• LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group (ERG): Our LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group acts as a support network for LGBTQIA+ people within the company.

• Pronouns, Everywhere!: Whether it’s in our Slack profiles, or on name tags at parties, we always make sure that our colleagues can be affirmed and addressed with their pronouns.

• Joint events: We’ve had several joint events with Better Games Together at our office, including an event for Pride Youth and a training for the staff of all of our companies about LGBTQIA+ history and issues in Finland.

• Genderless Bathrooms: We have genderless bathrooms in our Working cafe,

• Year-Round Conversation: Though we ramp up our Pride activities during Pride month, we celebrate different identities and LGBTQIA+-related celebratory days year-round by sharing information and having open conversations on our internal channels.

• Inclusive Language: We are mindful about the words we use, both in internal and external communication, so that we don’t unintentionally alienate our LGBTQIA+ colleagues and their families.

• Swag For Everyone: We’ve had a rainbow version of our logo on shirts for a few years now, but this year, we wanted to make sure as many people felt seen as possible. We’ve now got pins and stickers with our logo on the Bisexual, Pansexual, Asexual, Demisexual, Gay Man, Lesbian, Intersex, Transgender, and Non-Binary Pride flags.

• Supporting the Local Community: For the third year in a row, we are sponsoring Pride Game Jam, a Helsinki-based game jam dedicated to LGBQTIA+ themes and topics.

Helsinki Pride Month is celebrated in June 2024, and it will culminate in the Pride March on June 29th, 2024

Want to proudly make games year-round? Check out our Open Positions.