Baby Ghosts Studio Development Fund is reimagining what a sustainable, equitable future for the video game industry can look like. Based in Toronto and operating across Canada, the nonprofit supports worker-owned and worker-centric game studios through grants, mentorship, and openly shared tools. Founded by industry veterans who have witnessed the harm caused by crunch culture, layoffs, and systemic exclusion, Baby Ghosts exists to help studios build healthier structures from the start—without replicating the inequities of the mainstream games industry. As interest in cooperative and alternative studio models grows, Baby Ghosts is building the infrastructure, community, and resources needed to ensure creative work can thrive without exploitation.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
Baby Ghosts is a nonprofit supporting worker-owned and worker-centric video game studios across Canada through grants, mentorship, and open tools. We support those who are often underrepresented or excluded from the games industry, whether that’s due to gender, sexuality, race, immigration status, economic status, or other factors. We believe in a future of the games industry that is equitable, sustainable, and cooperative.
What problem does it aim to solve?
Despite the games industry being extremely profitable (~$197 billion revenue in 2025), it is unjustifiably inequitable and unsustainable. There have been over $35,000 layoffs since 2022, and the industry continues to be plagued by issues such as unhealthy work environments, bias, crunch, and other labour concerns. This has led to a rise in unionization, as well as a rise in indie studios. There is a growing interest in cooperatives and worker-centric studios, but these small teams need support to not replicate the harms of the industry. That’s where we come in!
When did you start/join it?
We (Jennie Robinson Faber and I) originally started running the Baby Ghosts Peer Accelerator through our fund, Weird Ghosts, in 2021. We then created Baby Ghosts (our nonprofit) in 2023 to better focus on cooperative studio support. We have run a total of 5 Peer Accelerators and are now involved in a number of other projects, including supporting a longitudinal research study conducted by postdoc Dr. Michael Iantorno and creating and sharing free resources on cooperative development at http://coop.love
What made you want to get involved?
I have been in/adjacent to the games industry for more than 15 years and have seen firsthand the inequality and harm it can cause. Games are incredibly powerful forms of cultural expression, and people deserve to be able to work on them in sustainable ways.
What was the situation like when you started?
All of the funding opportunities for game studios have traditionally been focused on projects. While getting this funding can be helpful (albeit difficult), there are still no supports or time for studio and business development. The programs that *do* offer business development support often charge a fee and/or push people to replicate the same inequitable structures the games industry is used to.
We wanted to create opportunities for studios where they get compensated for business development support and learn about alternative worker-centric models.
What needs to be done?
We have since seen a growing rise in awareness of cooperatives and worker-centric studios across the games industry. We have also seen other funds (such as the Canadian Media Fund) become more accepting of alternative studio models such as cooperatives.
We have built a thriving community of cooperative games studios who support one another and share resources. We have seen teams implement more diverse revenue models, so that they aren’t as precarious. And this knowledge also extends beyond the games industry into other industries, creative and otherwise.
What more needs to be done?
We are building our network out across Canada (as seen with Baby Ghosts Alberta), as well as developing a concentration of resources that can be shared globally. But this is also work that needs to be done throughout the games industry and beyond — we need to keep investing in collaboration, shared resourcing, diversity, and mutual aid.
How can our readers help?
You can donate to us here.
You can support the teams we work with by buying their games here.
You can invest in cooperation and equality in your own work (using our shared resources, if they help!)
Do you have any events coming up?
Sign up for our newsletter for workshops soon!
Where can we follow you?
Learn about impact strategy and studio development: https://learn.weirdghosts.ca/
Use our budget builder or wizards for cooperative development: http://coop.love
Subscribe to our newsletter: https://buttondown.com/babyghosts
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