How diversity is one of the games industry’s best features

• One of the shortlisted winners of Pocket Gamer Connects’ Aurora awards, Suvi Latva is driven by her love and passion for the games industry, which she says is maturing in terms of both diversity and inclusivity.

Inspiring women are everywhere, and the game sector is no exception. In celebration of those paving new business paths for girls, women and non-binary people in the games industry, we recently introduced Aurora. 

As part of Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki, we highlighted the women shortlisted for the Aurora awards - based on nominations received by the industry itself - live on stage, giving recognition, visibility and honour to the vanguards impacting the Nordic games industry.

Following the event, we caught up with some of them to gain deeper insight into their work and visions. In this edition, we spoke to Suvi Latva, the chief business advisor at Neogames Finland.

PocketGamer.biz: In your work role, how do you promote a better environment for women and non-binary people in the games industry?

Suvi Latva: I always say this industry isn’t about gender, ethnicity, or background – it’s about what and how you bring it to the table. Skills, manners and character matter. That’s what I focus on in everything I do. I don’t treat and I don’t believe that people should be treated differently based on identity, gender, or ethnicity. I think real equality means seeing everyone as a professional, not a category. 

Game dev culture is full of diverse, shy, quirky and brilliant people. It’s one of the best things about it. You can be odd and still belong entirely – as long as you respect others. That’s the kind of environment I support, and I spread the message about.

I talk a lot with students and young people about joining the community. There’s so much knowledge out there, people are open, and the industry welcomes those who are kind, curious and willing to learn. I always encourage them to just get involved.

I’m also a board member of We in Games Finland, which works to make the industry even more open and inclusive.

What inspired you to pursue a career in games?

For me, it’s the mix of creativity, innovation and technology – that you can create something commercial and meaningful that you can also make a living off, and that brings people joy. That combination got me hooked.

Also, I’ve always loved how this industry values unusual thinking. It’s a space where being out of the box isn’t a problem – it’s a strength. People work in games because they love it, not just to make their living. That’s inspiring to me. I love the community.

In terms of gender equality, how has the industry evolved over the last five years?

The industry’s grown up. Inclusion and fairness are taken more seriously, and people are more aware – not just about gender but about many layers of diversity. Neurodiversity, for example, gets more attention now. And that’s great, because better awareness helps us treat each other better.

But we also have to be careful. Inclusion shouldn’t mean building silos or splitting the industry into “us” and “them”. We all share the same goal: we want to make great games, build careers, and be part of a working community that feels meaningful and positive.

This isn’t about artists vs. programmers, or money vs. creativity, or one gender vs. another. We’re all building the same thing.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to women entering the games industry today?

Gender is not a limit – don’t even let that thought in. Focus on your skills, where you want to be, what you want to do and contribute, and who you are as a person. That’s what matters. 

Be brave, have a dream, and work hard to achieve it.

What projects or achievements are you most proud of, and how do they reflect your vision for the industry?

I’ve had the chance to play a crucial role in building and fuelling two local game industry ecosystems in Finland – Oulu and Tampere. I also invited Pocket Gamer to organise their very first event in Finland. These are some things I’m quite proud of. Another highlight in my career was that I led the first China market research project for the Finnish games industry in 2016.

Through my work at Neogames Finland, I’ve been involved in a lot of things that support the Finnish game industry overall – it is hard to list them in detail, but they’ve mattered. I always feel pure joy and satisfaction when I can help people in the games industry to achieve their goals.

I think intuition has played a big role in my work – plus being brave enough to look and apply for new opportunities. I started building the Oulu ecosystem back in 2006, pretty early in my career. Nobody had really done that kind of thing before in Finland. But I trusted that I could do it – and got it to work.

At the same time, I was humble enough to admit I was a noob when it came to how game dev and business actually work. I asked a tonne of questions to games industry professionals, and people were always very helpful, willing to share their knowledge and gave their support to me. This is exactly why I love this industry.

So here’s my advice: Listen to your gut, but don’t fear. Be brave and humble. Ask questions. Listen. Learn. But always make your own calls. Be honest and respectful. Sometimes you make mistakes, everyone does, then you own it, learn and fix what you can and go on. 

That’s how I’ve done it – and that’s what I believe in.

Check out more interviews with the shortlisted women and non-binary people in our Aurora series.