Happy International Women’s Day to women in gaming! | Kaser Focus

Like the headline says, Happy International Women’s Day, everyone! It’s been a bit of a day and a bit of a week. We lost Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball and a hugely influential figure in media. Rooster Teeth is shutting down. Warner Bros. is doubling down on live service for reasons that escape me. But it’s Friday and I find I don’t really want to focus on any of that — except to say Rest in Peace Toriyama. Instead, I want to be more positive, focus on the holiday and talk about all the women in the games industry who’ve elevated the medium and community with their work.

I’ve had the honor of leading the Women in Gaming breakfast panels at several of GamesBeat’s events, where I’ve met some of my favorite people in the industry. Seriously, the women who’ve attended GamesBeat’s events have all been exceptional people, all of whom came to GamesBeat with open minds and ideas about gaming’s future. This includes (but by no means is limited to) women like Jen O’Neal, Catharina Mallet, Monika Madrid, Perrin Kaplan, Erica Larson, Michelle Torrey, Sarah Anderson, Shail Mehta, Namrata Gandhi, Kamini Tiwari, Jane Hoffacker and Andrea Rene. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the awesome women I work with at VentureBeat, such as Gina Joseph, Sharon Goldman and especially my GamesBeat colleague Jordan Fragen.