9 Female Led Game Studios

It's no secret that video game development has been a largely male-dominated field since its inception. Even though the industry wouldn't be where it is today without lots of influential women driving it forward, the imbalance is still rather apparent, and a history of harassment against women in gaming doesn't help.

Best Video Games With Female Protagonists

These games have excellent female protagonists.

But women in game development have been working to close that gap by working their way up the ranks and even starting their own studios. Many of these studios have created some of your favorite games, and it's certainly a worthwhile endeavor to recognize those female-led companies for their efforts.

9 Love Conquers All Games

Christine Love - Co-Founder

Co-founded by Christine Love, the aptly-named Love Conquers All Games creates experiences focused on relationships and solid emotional gut punches. With her studio, Love has put out several acclaimed titles with lots of comedy, romance, and satisfying LGBTQ+ inclusive storylines.

Love Conquers All Games is largely known for visual novels like Digital: A Love Story, Analogue: A Hate Story, and the erotic comedy Ladykiller In A Bind. But they also went more of the action route with Get In The Car, Loser!, a delightfully chaotic romp that lets you live out your wildest road trip fantasies.

8 Microbird Games

Regina Reisinger - Co-Founder

The Vienna-based Microbird Games was founded by Regina Reisinger and Philipp Seifried in 2020, and their small team truly has some power behind it. Their goal on their site was to make 'visually distinct single player experiences that will take you on fantastic and unique journeys,' and they absolutely succeeded.

8 Games To Play If You Like Dungeons of Hinterberg

If you're looking for more games with a cosy feeling, dungeons, and/or a warm visual style, such as Dungeons of Hinterberg, we have you covered.

In just a few short years, they managed to put out Dungeons of Hinterberg, a stunning adventure through a gorgeous Alpine town and the magical dungeons surrounding it. Its more compact Persona-like structure is immensely satisfying, and you can thank Reisinger and the rest of her team for that.

7 Kitfox Games

Tanya X. Short - Co-Founder, Creative Director

In 2013, game designer Tanya X. Short helped launch Kitfox Games alongside her new team in Montreal, Canada. Despite not having worked together before, the crew meshed well and put out the sci-fi roguelike Shattered Planet just one year later.

This was quickly followed by a slew of others, including action RPG Moon Hunters and the shockingly heartfelt dungeon crawler Boyfriend Dungeon. Yes, they made the game where you fight through dungeons with people who shapeshift into weapons and then also date those weapons. Cinema.

6 Extremely OK Games

Maddy Thorson - Founder, Director

You may not recognize the name Extremely OK Games, but odds are you've heard of its founder or at least of her most popular game. Formerly going by Maddy Makes Games, Maddy Thorson made waves with her incredible 2D platformer Celeste, and she's still going with her new studio.

8 Best Fast-Paced Indie Games

The indie scene is packed with fast-paced games to get your adrenaline pumping.

Her team at Maddy Makes Games (now effectively the team at Extremely OK Games) also previously put out the arena combat game TowerFall. So between that and Celeste's popularity as a platformer and trans allegory, Thorson has certainly made her mark on the industry.

5 Pounce Light Games

Anastasia Opara - Co-Founder

Swedish indie developer Pounce Light Games is a tiny yet mighty studio comprised of only two people. Co-founders Anastasia Opara and Tomasz Stachowiak came together with a cozy goal, and that goal was achieved marvelously.

Their crowning achievement is Tiny Glade, the most comforting building game you could imagine. Opara and her development partner brought out this relaxing gem at seemingly the exact perfect time, and they deserve all the praise for it.

4 Cygnus Entertainment

Roberta Williams - Co-Founder

Roberta Williams was already an industry icon when she formed Cygnus Entertainment in 2021. She also co-founded Sierra Entertainment, the studio behind classic adventure games like Phantasmagoria and the beloved King's Quest series. Women have been influential in game development since the early days, and Williams is one of the most legendary examples.

The Best Text Adventure Games

These text adventure games have been written down as the best of their genre.

Not only was she the creative mind behind so many celebrated titles, she and her husband Ken (former Sierra CEO) returned to the industry decades later as Cygnus Entertainment to create Colossal Cave, a 3D ramake of Colossal Cave Adventure, a 1976 text-based game revered as one of the most significant early interactive experiences.

3 Glass Bottom Games

Megan Fox - Founder

Originally started as a side project in 2011, Glass Bottom Games became its wonderful beast a year later when founder Megan Fox's previous workplace, MMO developer NetDevil, shut down. It also resulted in the delightful SkateBIRD.

While they've created a few games, Fox and her team struck gold when they released the adorable avian skateboarding game SkateBIRD in 2021, letting you kickflip, grind, and other skateboarding words around tiny environments as your own cute little customizable bird. Sometimes, you don't know how badly you've needed something until someone else makes it.

2 Moonana

Nana Moon - Founder, Lead Developer

Specializing in retro-style RPGs, Moonana was founded by game designer Nana Moon and quickly set about creating some truly charming experiences. Getting her start in game jams, Moon had a taste for more when she started her studio.

Best RPGs With Pixel Graphics

Whether a product of its time or an artistic choice, nothing beats a good pixel art RPG.

Her team's first major release was the stylish pixel RPG Virgo vs. The Zodiac, but perhaps their most notable was 2024's Keylocker. This turn-based cyberpunk story (it's right there in the title on Steam) drops you in a world where music itself has been deemed a crime, offering a perhaps unintentional nod to Footloose you may not have realized you needed.

1 Haven Studios

Jade Raymond - Founder

Legendary game producer Jade Raymond is one of those industry figures who hasn't slowed down in the slightest over the years. She started Haven Studios in 2022, with the company quickly being taken under the wing of Sony and becoming a first-party developer for PlayStation Studios.

But while Haven's anticipated co-op heist title Fairgame$ is interesting enough, Raymond's previous work speaks for itself. Not only did she head up the creation of Ubisoft Toronto, but she was also key in the development of gaming juggernauts like the original Assassin's Creed.

9 Incredible Female Video Game Composers

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