Take This turns 14 years old in a couple of months. Over the nearly decade and a half we’ve been around, we have served over 20,000 guests in our AFK Rooms at events around the world, educated hundreds of developers on burnout and other work-related mental health topics, consulted on mental health representation in multiple video and tabletop games, mentored 20 incredible early career professionals, and much more.
But our work is not yet done. Now, more than ever, game developers are in need of mental health support, education, and resources. In the last few years, our industry has been wracked with layoffs and uncertainty, leading to huge numbers of developers who are out of work and struggling to find a new position. It’s no secret that an extended job search, particularly these days, can lead to increased stress, higher rates of burnout, and other adverse mental health outcomes.
“We’ve heard time and time again from game developers how overwhelming layoffs and instability in the game industry has been.” says Brian Kunde, Take This’ Lead Workshop Consultant. “Not just for those laid off, but also for those who remain at studios having to shoulder even more work and worried they’ll be next. That sort of stress can have long term impacts on your mental health. And devs are without the resources or time to access the sort of mental healthcare they need most right now. So we’re going to offer the sort of accessible and flexible support they need.”
To that end, we are announcing a new program, Take This Talks, a monthly workshop series running September through December of 2026 focusing on relevant topics and practical skills for managing one’s mental health in the face of structural stress.
Take This Talks is being sponsored in 2026 by Board Member Pete Hines. We’re so grateful to Mr. Hines for his generosity and passion for serving the games community. Of his time in the games industry and his hopes for the Take This Talks initiative, Mr. Hines had this to say:
“I spent decades working in the video game industry where I had a front-row seat to see how mental health impacts developers, publishers, and their communities in both big and small ways. From speaking to my own teams about the importance of mental health to seeing how our games and communities lifted people dealing with their own mental health struggles.”
“Even though I’m retired, I still very much believe in supporting the past, present, and future of our industry by creating safe spaces where people can talk about how to deal with the challenges of working in this industry. Never has that been more important than now, with the industry going through a difficult time. I hope this initiative will further Take This’ efforts to better educate and equip people in the industry to deal with the many ways in which mental health impacts them professionally and personally.”
Registration is now open for our first workshop in the series, Sustainable Design(ers): Managing Burnout for Game Devs, on 9/21/26 at 5 PM PT. Designed and facilitated by Take This’ Senior Researcher, Dr. Elizabeth Kilmer, this session will equip all developers, especially those impacted by layoffs, with the knowledge, skills, and best practices to tackle burnout. Tickets are a suggested donation of $10, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
If you’re interested working with our organization to provide more Take This Talks in 2027 and beyond, we’re always on the lookout for future sponsors! Reach out to in**@******is.org to set up a meeting.