Gamer Girls: 25 Women Who Built the Video Game Industry is a short, illustrated collection of profiles that makes women’s work in game development easier to see and explore. In his July 30, 2022 review, MobileSyrup’s Bradly Shankar praises its accessible writing and range of stories, while noting that it is a selection of 25 lives—not a comprehensive history of the industry.
What the book is about
Written by Mary Kenney, Gamer Girls: 25 Women Who Built the Video Game Industry presents profiles of women whose work spans countries, decades, game genres, and professional roles. The examples Shankar highlights include game creation, programming, art, composing, studio leadership, and writing. Among the people he names are Amy Hennig, Roberta Williams, Laura Nikolich, Joyce Weisbecker, Yoko Shimomura, Jade Raymond, and Kazuko Shibuya. These are examples discussed in the review, not a complete list of the book’s subjects.
Kenney was identified in the 2022 review as a senior writer at Insomniac Games; that is a time-specific description, not a statement about her current employment. The illustrations are by Salini Perera.
Why the stories matter
The book’s central aim is to make women’s contributions to making games visible, including work that can be overlooked or insufficiently credited. Shankar situates that aim against a disparity in Canada: he reports that the Entertainment Software Association of Canada said about 50 percent of Canadian gamers identified as female in 2021, while women made up 23 percent of video game developers. Those figures are reported secondhand in the 2022 review; they should not be read as independently verified here, or as numbers for other years or countries.
#1 Best Overall
The review also describes sexism, harassment, and lack of recognition as part of the context some women faced. The profiles therefore offer more than a list of accomplishments: they draw attention to the conditions in which women have built careers and contributed to games.
How the book makes its subject approachable
Shankar describes the profiles as concise and accessible to readers without deep knowledge of gaming. A glossary explains game-development terminology, while “Side Quests” add examples beyond the main profiles. The reviewer mentions Karin Weekes and Siobhan Reddy in connection with those sidebars. Perera’s illustrations give the collection a visual dimension alongside its short biographies.
Rank #2
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Kenney’s introduction, as quoted in Shankar’s review, states: “I approached writing this book with a simple goal in mind: to show girls that they can make video games.” The review also reproduces her description of the stories as being about “passion, hope, resilience, optimism, and grit.” These quotations are reproduced by the reviewer; readers seeking the exact wording in the primary text should check the book itself.
What the review does—and does not—establish
Shankar’s assessment is strongly positive about the book’s range, accessibility, profiles, and illustrations. He also notes that allegations involving Robin Hunicke, one of the people profiled, surfaced after the book was being assembled. That timing and context are reported by the 2022 review; the review alone does not establish subsequent developments.
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Rank #3
One review cannot establish a broader critical consensus, sales performance, awards, or the book’s current reception. Nor is the collection presented as a census of women in games or a complete history of the industry. Its value, as described by Shankar, lies in introducing readers to a selected group of contributors and making their work more visible.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Who may find it useful
- Readers looking for an approachable introduction to women’s contributions across different kinds of game work.
- Young readers interested in seeing examples of women making games, alongside adults seeking concise profiles rather than a technical industry history.
- Anyone who wants starting points for learning about creators and contributors whose work may be less familiar.
For the book’s contents and the reviewer’s full assessment, see Bradly Shankar’s MobileSyrup review.
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Best Value
Rank #4
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