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Xbox launches Project Amplify to magnify & inspire Black developers in gaming

Xbox has launched Project Amplify to share insights and advice from Black employees, and to educate and motivate newcomers in the gaming industry.

TJ Denzer

September 26, 2022 7:45 AM

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While there have been pushes to diversify the gaming industry, there’s still a lot of work to do. Whether its boosting the stories told or the variety of people telling them, we could use more voices to truly drive home that gaming is for everyone. In honor of National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week in the United States, Xbox has chosen to launch Project Amplify. It’s a video series that highlights Black employees in various positions at Xbox with the mission of magnifying their careers, and educating and inspiring young people to enter the gaming industry.

Xbox launched Project Amplify on September 26, 2022, as shared in an Xbox Wire post.

“Gaming is a leading form of entertainment,” the post reads. “But to date – only 2% of professionals in the video game industry are Black compared with 13% of the U.S. population. In partnership with members of the Black Communities at Xbox, Xbox is looking to uplevel that statistic and close this gap by promoting pipelines for Black people and youth across the gaming industry.”

With that in mind, Project Amplify takes 14 Black employees from across Xbox’s various studios and departments and shares stories of their insights, experience, highlights from current and past projects, and more knowledge from their time in the gaming industry. The goal is to hopefully inspire young individuals that want to find their place in the gaming industry. As much as these videos will aim to share the successes of a number of employees within the Xbox ecosystem, it will hopefully educate and motivate newcomers to enter the field.

With Project Amplify having launched, be sure to check out the video series on the ID@Xbox YouTube channel. More videos will be posted there from a variety of Black developers and staff at Xbox throughout the week.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.