Riot Games Begins Offering Free Mental Health Resources to Content Creators
For over a year, the global pandemic shaped the world differently from what many considered normal everyday life, especially during its peak amid lockdowns and various stages of quarantine. Many gamers turned to content creation, with some who were once casual players taking up Twitch and YouTube as full-time jobs, for example.
As the pandemic continues, mental health among gamers continues to be a focal point among content creators. Some streamers in the past have had their job experiences take a toll on their well-being, especially when enduring harassment and bans from said services. In response to the ever-changing climate of the world and how it affects public gaming, several companies have offered mental health resources and services for players and content creators to be aware of, with Riot joining the increasing number of game developers.
Over the weekend, Riot Games announced its partnership with The Public Goods Projects, a non-profit public health company that aims to promote good health and spread awareness of common health topics including drug abuse, vaccinations, and mental health. The latter is a focus for Riot Games as, according to the company in its statement, its players in North America have mentioned that "good mental health and well being is the social value most important to them." The company had released a free guide for its content creators and players to help inform them on various mental health misconceptions and positive ways to boost mental health.
With the partnership, the League of Legends developer hopes to provide information to its various content creators and players over the course of the year via free mental health resources, including a guidebook on common misconceptions including the difference between mental illness and mental health. Riot also addresses the effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has on its players, promoting various methods for players to maintain good mental health despite the various stressors within the game and the world around them.
In the past, companies highlighted the effects of mental health and the link between its players and the pandemic, with several developers adding subtle PSAs within their games. Codemasters, a UK-based company specializing in racing games, had placed advertisements promoting several mental health organizations on billboards across their various racing titles to spread awareness of mental health among its UK player base.
Other game developers are opting to spread awareness of mental health and mental illnesses through its upcoming titles rather than through advertisements, as is the case with Double Fine studios. During the development of Psychonauts 2, the company brought on board a psychologist to its team in order to accurately depict mental health illness, as proper representation is the best way to help spread awareness towards a delicate yet important subject among players.
Source: Riot Games
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