Celebrating 6 Women Who Created Last Year's Best Video Games

Today, March 8th, is International Women's Day, a day to celebrate the achievements of women in all walks of life.

The gaming industry remains male-dominated, so it's even more important to highlight just a few of the thousands of women working every day to provide the best experience for gamers around the world.

These are six great women who helped create some of the most inspiring video games released last year.

Yoko Shimomura

One of gaming's most iconic composers, Yoko Shimomura has created music for classic games like Street Fighter II and King of Dragons.

Shimomura is best known for writing the score for Kingdom Hearts, but he also scored Xenoblade Chronicles and was the sole composer for Live A Live. .

This year, her memorable theme was revived in the Super Mario RPG remake and rearranged for a 2023 release.

Brigitta Lena and Garou Elsa

The Indonesian adventure video game “A Space for the Unbound” was praised for its excellent story about two high school lovers set at the end of the world.

The game's pixel art style is further enhanced by the heartwarming story written by Brigitta Rena and Galuh Elsa, and we can't wait to see more from the female writing duo.

Takeda Hana

Japanese voice actors enjoy the same celebrity status as voice actors for film and stage, and Hana Takeda has lent her voice to countless characters in video games.

Most recently, Takeda reprized his role as Soni in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth as the leader of Comijul, and Liuman was promoted to a playable character.

Tilly Steele

Baldur's Gate 3 has been widely praised for the quality of its cutscenes, which are packed with branching dialogue and memorable performances.

Thanks to the work of Baldur's Gate 3's audio and performance director Tilly Steele and her incredible cast of actors, we'll never forget Astarion, Shadowheart, Ryzel, and the omnipresent narrator.

abby howard

Abby Howard teamed up with her husband to create Slay the Princess, one of the most acclaimed games of 2023.

Featuring Howard's gorgeous pencil-drawn art style, the game quickly gained worldwide acclaim and is a must-play horror adventure.

If you want to know more about women in video games, check out our picks from last year.

Written by Stoyan Ovcharov on behalf of GLHF.