Every once in a while, you get briefed on a project that asks for real heart and soul. Game Changers is one of those projects. For 2025, we wanted to capture exactly why Game Changers exists: to create a safe space for women and marginalized genders to play VALORANT.
I’ve been a hardcore competitive FPS player since Halo 1, and toxicity has always been part of the experience. Even as a straight white man, I’ve felt it, but I also recognize that I was born into a kind of safe space by default. So when I started working on Game Changers, I knew I had to learn a lot. I asked a lot of questions because I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Our incredibly talented producer Ashley Denktas got my questions out to GC pros. I talked to my peers Oshin Tudayan, Maya Ozasa, and our legendary design lead on GCC Ash Moon. I started asking similar questions to any female players I would run into in my daily games. The stories they shared hit me hard.
What some of you go through just to play a game is unbelievable and heartbreaking. Hearing these experiences brought me to tears more times than I expected. Around 70% of women won’t use their mic in game because they’re afraid of what will happen the moment their voice is heard. But the conversations weren’t all heavy. I also heard about the joy in the community, the friendships, the support, and the sense of belonging that comes from shared experience. I think when you find your people, you find your power. For women and marginalized genders, community isn’t just comfort. It’s freedom. It means letting go of scrutiny, quieting doubt, and stepping into who you’ve always been with people who truly understand you.
I had an idea of the kind of story I wanted to tell, but it needed real truth behind it, and it needed a really good song. Thanks to surveys, one-on-one talks, and private Discord chats, I had a long list of honest insights to build from. We sifted through playlists and playlists of songs and found an unreleased Katseye track that was almost perfect. They were willing to make us a custom version that better suited our audience. Did I mention they were just Grammy nominated for best new artist? Massive Assembly and Maxilla.jp created amazing Manhwa-style animation to honor the tournament being in Seoul. Although it may just look like a two minute music video, heart and soul went into every frame.
The result is the start of a campaign that has already seen almost twelve times the viewership year over year. Below the video you will find the visual ID system that channeled the same Manhwa spirit.
It’s time to GO OFF in Seoul.
I’m also known to write a good manifesto.
This was just for mood setting internally:
They don’t need your permission.
They don’t flinch at your doubt.
They’ve heard the trash talk, seen the gatekeeping, felt the heat of the spotlight, and the cold of being sidelined
And they kept going.
Because their fire? It doesn’t burn out.
It spreads.
Every text, every knowing look and shared eyeroll, every “you got this” whispered into a headset…
Is oxygen.
This is not about overcoming.
It’s about becoming.
Louder. Sharper. Brighter.
Flames feeding flames.
The teammate who hypes you in the clutch.
The friend who pulls you out of a tilt.
The stranger who has your back out of nowhere.
This group is built different.
They aren’t playing.
They are igniting.
Burning so bright, they light the way for the next.
It’s not just solidarity. It’s combustion.