Giving Credit Where Credit is Due: The Importance of Properly Acknowledging Game Developers

In recent months, numerous stories have surfaced about game developers being left out of credits. Notable examples include former MercurySteam employees not being credited in Metroid Dread and 20 people from Striking Distance Studios being forgotten in The Callisto Protocol's acknowledgments. The issue of omitted credits is not new, but a fresh movement is highlighting the discrepancies and pushing for proper acknowledgment of developers' work. The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has been addressing this issue since the late 2000s and provides guidelines for proper crediting. Nazih Fares, vice-chair at the IGDA Game Credits SIG, notes that many developers are not credited for their work, including himself, who worked on roughly 50 games before receiving his first credit. Tarja Porkka-Kontturi, a board member of the Game Credits SIG, recalls her first experiences in the industry and the importance of crediting. The reasons for omitted credits are complex, but often it comes down to the fact that crediting is not a priority until it's too late. Fares emphasizes that crediting is not just about recognizing individual contributions but also about creating a safe environment for employees. Klaudia Mower, QA manager at Testronic, highlights the challenges of crediting external contributors, such as localisation and QA workers. The industry's increasing reliance on outsourcers has exacerbated the issue, making it difficult for junior workers to include their experience in their CVs. Fares believes that the responsibility for crediting outsourcers falls on both studios and vendors. He also stresses the importance of being specific about a person's job and accurately representing their work. The IGDA crediting guidelines provide inclusion rules, such as requiring 30 days of work on a project to qualify for credits. Fares recommends gradually building a list of names as the project progresses and using project management tools to keep track of contributors. Having proper guidelines in place can be a valuable tool, and Fares suggests making crediting part of the onboarding process. Testronic has crediting guidelines, which include waiting for clients to request credit inclusion and being mindful of GDPR. Fares hopes that unions will help make crediting policies an official fixture of the games industry, making it mandatory for games to have exhaustive credits. However, standardisation could be challenging to maintain and execute. Mower notes that reviewing cases individually may be necessary, and Fares highlights the importance of considering cultural differentiations in crediting policies. Ultimately, Fares and Porkka-Kontturi hope to see crediting guidelines become a norm, moving away from the 'gatekeeping mentality' and creating a sentiment that companies without crediting policies are not good companies.