Xbox has announced the launch of Project Amplify to support HBCU students interested in gaming industry careers.

Project Amplify is a video series that aims to magnify Black voices within Xbox to inspire, educate, and motivate youth across the United States to aspire towards careers in the gaming industry through real-life storytelling from Black leaders and employees across the Xbox ecosystem.

A recent survey from HBCU Connect, commissioned by Microsoft, determined that out of 200 respondents, approximately 95 percent of college students and alumni from HBCUs across the country shared that they have interest in a career in the gaming industry. According to the survey, 34 percent of respondents stated that they were specifically interested in program management roles, 24 percent were interested in engineering roles and 18 percent were interested in gaming development roles.

Gaming is a leading form of entertainment, and to date, only two percent of professionals in the video game industry are Black compared with 13 percent of the U.S. population. In partnership with members of the Black Communities at Xbox, Xbox shares that they are looking to up level that statistic and close this gap by promoting pipelines for Black people and youth across the gaming industry.

Project Amplify features 14 Black employees from across Xbox as they each share advice, insights into their current roles, and highlights from their time within the gaming industry. According to Xbox, the video series is meant to educate youth on the diversity of roles within the gaming industry, while highlighting some of the Black people who are working in those roles.

“Growing up I didn’t have much of a vision for what my career would be. I decided to go to college because I thought it was a way to ‘Get a good job’ and escape poverty, but even as a freshman computer science major, I still had a very shallow knowledge of the opportunities that the tech industry presented me,” Xbox product manager Q Muhaimin said in a press release. “Throughout my college experience and with internships, I learned more about how big the world is – how many companies, careers, and pathways exist for you to find or create a job that you love. I want more people to know that they have options, nothing is impossible or out of reach for them and encourage those to start chasing their passions early.”

“In my early years I was more focused on what not to do versus what I could be. It wasn’t until my adult years that I learned to leverage my passion for games into a career. I am now incredibly thankful to be celebrating 10+ years in my dream career and I hope Project Amplify inspires people to dream and take action toward their own goals. As my coaches and mentors would say, ‘Play to win instead of playing to not lose,'” James Lewis, senior business development manager at Xbox, added.

Xbox has partnered with the 2022 REVOLT Summit x AT&T for a two-day event that starts tomorrow (Sept. 24) to “reach students and gaming enthusiasts through on-site industry panels and networking opportunities with members of the Black Communities at Xbox.”