Big Fish Games teams up with the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
It may be 2019, but unfortunately, women continue to be overlooked in the gaming world. There’s still a lack of representation behind-the-scenes and within the games themselves. The mind-blowing thing is, according to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), women over the age of 18 make up a significant amount of gamers in the United States. Isn’t it time that companies and developers started paying attention to their large female audiences?
During the entire month of October, Big Fish Games, who brought fans the beloved Cooking Craze and Gummy Drop!, is doing exactly that by rallying its female employees together for a cause that’s meaningful to them and the women playing the company’s mobile games. As stated in a recent press release, 82% of Big Fish Games’ players among the seven titles participating in the new campaign are women. This inspired the women of the casual gaming corporation to partner with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) to create the “Big Fish for a Cause” program in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “I love my job and the game I work on, in large part because of our amazing loyal players, who are mostly women,” Gummy Drop! Product Manager Heather Bales told Forbes. “I wanted to give back to them, both in-game and out by supporting something that was important and we knew that breast cancer awareness was one of those causes.”
The initiative gives players a chance to donate to the NBCF and win a number of prizes through a series of themed events within the company’s portfolio of mobile games. Winning is a team effort as it will go to the game with the highest percentage increase in total minutes played from the beginning to the end of October. In short, the more people play their favorite game, the closer they will be to getting the in-game prizes. The current leader is the popular Decurse with Big Fish Casino and Gummy Drop! following closely behind.
Big Fish Games employees come together for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Beyond the screen, Big Fish Games hosted a Pink Day at their Seattle and Oakland headquarters, where the NBCF facilitated a lunch and learn about navigating breast cancer in the workplace. Then, all employees had the opportunity to assemble hope kits for patients across the country. In addition, a generous donation of $225,000 to NBCF was made by the company. “Rather than trying to do everything, we prioritized one cause,” President and Managing Director of Big Fish Games Jeff Karp said. “Going forward, we want to learn from our audiences more and ensure that we give back to organizations that matter to them.”
There’s definitely more to come from Big Fish Games, especially with women at the forefront of their games. “Ultimately, our players are at the heart of everything we do,” Director of Strategic Partnerships Becky Sayers explained. “Their feedback helps us make better games, their passion guides our brand partnership strategy, and their stories inspire programs like ‘Big Fish for a Cause.’ We’ll keep listening to players, using their sentiment as a guidepost for future campaigns, so stay tuned for more.”
