Empowering neurodiverse young people and fostering collaborative industry ties, Raising the Game is a Youth Options project that delivers a quality assurance (QA) service for game studios while providing training, paid employment and work experience opportunities for young people. QA is a vital part of the game development process, ensuring games are free of errors, bugs and glitches and that they meet the expectations of players and clients.
The JFM Fund grant supported the setup and initial operation costs of Raising the Game, enabling Youth Options to develop, test and refine an innovative social enterprise model that combines inclusive employment with quality assurance services for the gaming industry.
The aim of Raising the Game was to establish a social enterprise delivering QA services for external game studios while employing young people to undertake QA testing and training.
The project successfully created an inclusive model, creating employment pathways for young people while demonstrating the value of inclusive recruitment to the gaming industry.
More than a QA service, Raising the Game provided participants with opportunities to develop technical, employability and social skills in an accessible and inclusive environment, with a particular focus on supporting neurodiverse young people.
During the grant period, the project achieved a number of significant milestones:
In addition, the Raising the Game social enterprise secured four paying customers, demonstrating the commercial viability of the model.
For Youth Options, Raising the Game expanded its programs and services while establishing a sustainable social enterprise and creating new partnerships across the gaming sector.
The project demonstrated how innovative industry collaborations can create meaningful education and employment pathways for young people with disability and neurodiverse young people, while helping to build a more inclusive games industry.
For participants, Raising the Game provided opportunities to explore careers in gaming, gain recognised micro-credentials and build confidence in a supportive environment. The project also created Peer Leader roles for young people with disability as part of Youth Options’ commitment to genuine inclusion, where people with disability are represented in governance, management, and service design and delivery.
For the wider community, Raising the Game showcased the valuable contribution young people with disability can make to the gaming industry and beyond. It demonstrated how collaboration, innovation and inclusive employment can create lasting social and economic benefits.
“The support of JFM Fund created a ripple effect – thanks to their initial investment, we were able to double the amount of support from other parties who saw the value and momentum generated by JFM Fund’s belief in our vision. Our story is still unfolding, but thanks to JFM Fund, the future of Raising the Game – and the young people at its heart – has never looked brighter.”
Michelle Braham, CEO of Youth Options
