Why gaming is essential

When I accepted my job as Chief Creative Officer at Activision Blizzard almost a year ago, I never shared what led me to this decision. As I reflect upon my time so far with the company – and the last year we have experienced as a global community, the role that our games play in our society seems even more important.

Like so many decisions in life, pursuing a new job is about meeting the needs of both your mind and your heart. Sure, a new job needs to make sense, but it also should be something you feel connected to – something you can fall in love with. As a creative who’s driven by the emotional influence my work can have on people, creating joy, excitement and connection is paramount. In my own way, I came to realize that Activision Blizzard would give me the opportunity to pursue this goal. Here is my journey...

When I got the opportunity to join Activision Blizzard, my head quickly understood why this would be an intriguing career move.

The industry is booming. Interactive entertainment, or gaming, is the most innovative art form of our lifetime. With this job, I could be part of creating at the pinnacle of imagination, with literally endless creative opportunity.

Activision Blizzard has it all: the best talent in the world; the best and biggest games in the business; captivating worlds that are inhabited by amazing players from all backgrounds and abilities; and powerful technology that will benefit from acronyms like AR, VR, AI and 5G, which is just around the corner. You’d have to be mad to deny the momentum behind the company, its people and its games.

However, I had to convince my heart that joining this company would be a good idea too. As I began to think about the reputation of gaming, I recall myself sneaking away to play video games for endless hours while telling my own kids to get off their screens. I saw a lot of people playing in what seemed to be isolation. I had to ask myself: could I go to work every day and feel proud of what I do? So, I set out to uncover why so many people around the world are playing our games, and to understand the value they get out of them.

Obviously, video games are fun. It’s entertainment, right? But to attract hundreds of millions of passionate and loyal players every day, games must be fulfilling their needs in ways that aren’t being met anywhere else. When I dug a bit deeper, it was all there, all the reasons why what we do is so important to people, why gaming is so prolific and why it matters. I saw before me a set of wonderful design principles taking shape behind all these epically successful games. Here’s what I found:

· Competition matters. We want to compete – to find our strengths and to see what we can accomplish. But we were all born with different abilities and most of us can never be elite athletes. In the worlds we create, anyone can play and compete. We provide a level playing field.

Winning big matters. It’s not every day that we get to win big in front of others. We might get married, have kids, secure a nice job, win the lottery – but not every day. Anyone can win big in the worlds we create, and all they need to do is press “start.”

Inclusion and belonging matters. Life can be lonely without a strong sense of belonging, without a team. After all, we are social beings. In the worlds we create, there is a team for everyone. You can squad up, get matched, find a guild, pick an alliance or a horde. You can be a part of something.

Progress matters. It is hard to know when to expect progress in everyday life. We don’t always know what’s around the corner or when that next promotion will come. In our worlds, you know exactly what it takes to reach the next level.

Experience matters. Wanderlust may drive us to seek out new places, to travel and discover new experiences, but in reality we will always be limited by our own resources. The worlds we create are really just that – worlds full of experiences that anyone can visit at any time.

Identity matters. When we are born into this world our avatars pick us. Our worlds allow you to choose your own avatar, customize it, and experiment with it freely and without consequence.

When I discovered all of this, I fell in love with the impact we can have and my heart agreed too. If I could help millions of people get this kind of fulfillment from our games, then I knew I could bring passion to my work and find deep satisfaction with its impact.

Every day, I am proud of what we have created and will continue to build. Now more than ever, I think we can all be proud of the positive impact we are having on the global community of players that we serve.