Your Gift Is Doubled for Emerging Games Professionals 🎉

Thanks to the generosity of Take This board member Pete Hines, we have a $15,000 matching gift in place, doubling every donation until the full amount is reached.

As Pete shares,

“I have seen firsthand the importance of talking about mental health throughout my career and believe it’s important to support Take This and its work in creating better mental health spaces and programs in and around the video game industry.”

Your support powers our programs like our Accelerate, our global mentorship program for rising games professionals who are shaping a safer, more inclusive, and mentally healthy future for the industry.

Learn more about the Accelerate Program

In 2025, Accelerate supported 20 fellows across eight countries as they gained career clarity, built professional networks, and entered the spaces where opportunity begins.

Your gift provides mentorship, community, travel support for GDC, and the tools emerging talent needs to thrive in the games industry.

Give today and have your gift doubled.

Thank you for supporting the next generation of the games industry.

Watch the Impact 🎥

Hear directly from our staff and fellows in our Accelerate impact video below!

Accelerate Impact at a Glance 📈

Our first cohort shows what happens when emerging talent receives mentorship, community, and direct access to opportunity.

Program Outcomes

80% now work at the intersection of games and mental health
90% said they benefited from meaningful professional connections made through Take This
80% are still in contact with their mentors
100% of fellows who attended GDC said it was the most impactful part of the program
100% are making successful career progress, including gaining employment, continuing formal education, or receiving promotions
100% plan to continue pursuing careers at the intersection of games and mental health

Before and After Growth

Clear increases in confidence, clarity, and industry readiness
Fellows reported stronger networking skills, improved portfolios, and a better understanding of how to enter and thrive in the games industry

Connections Made at GDC

Fellows walked away from GDC with new leads, mentors, collaborators, and employers
Many secured interviews, project invitations, and established ongoing industry relationships

View the Season 2 Cohort

The Season 2 Accelerate cohort is halfway through the program and already making impressive strides. Representing seven countries, the fellows include game producers, clinical and research psychologists, a multimedia designer, and a neuroscientist turned game designer. We are currently raising funds to bring them all to GDC so they can connect with mentors and advance their careers.

Real Stories from the Accelerate Fellows✨

Our fellows continue to share how transformative Accelerate has been for their careers and well-being:

“I developed a research proposal that wouldn’t have been possible without the program's structured learning around mental health, games, and working with industry.... I’m now moving this project forward in my current role, which is incredibly exciting.”

“For me, the most valuable part was the practical knowledge about the barriers to working with industry in this space. When I encountered those challenges at GDC, I was able to recognize them and pivot to develop an idea that was both feasible and addressed those issues. I felt prepared.”

“The game I am working on with Silverstring is a cozy idle game that touches upon the theme of grief, comfort, mental support etc. The studio lead hired me as someone who is advocating in this field and share a passion for enhancing this game (and the studio's general goals) in relation to mental health.”

“Mental health will always be intermixed with games as long as people are playing games. In the future, I really want to develop my capstone into an actual thing. For my job, I want to develop more wellness-based programming for our competitive players, such as dedicated weekly time for them to bond with their teammates.”

“The program has really helped inform my approach to game development and helped guide me more specifically towards what discipline in game development I would like to pursue, which is production and more leadership-oriented positions.”

Access to guidance and community can change everything.

About Take This

At Take This, we focus on advocating for and supporting the mental health of everyone who creates and plays games. We accomplish this mission in a variety of ways, including AFK Quiet Rooms at conventions staffed with mental health clinicians, our Accelerate Mentorship Program for those working at the intersection of games and mental health, and workshops and trainings for game developers focused on the mental health of their teams.

You can learn more about us here: TakeThis.org

Accelerate the Future of Gaming

Mentorship Opens Doors, Sparks Opportunity, and Shapes Futures