Harvey, AlisonShepherd, Tamara2024-09-092024-09-092016-03-02Harvey, A., & Shepherd, T. (2017). When passion isn’t enough: gender, affect and credibility in digital games design. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 20(5), 492-508. https://doi.org/10.1177/13678779166361401460-356Xhttps://doi.org/10.1177/1367877916636140https://hdl.handle.net/10315/42303This is article has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Cultural Studies. The published version may be accessed at Harvey, A., & Shepherd, T. (2017). When passion isn’t enough: gender, affect and credibility in digital games design. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 20(5), 492-508. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877916636140Recent controversies around identity and diversity in digital games culture indicate the heightened affective terrain for participants within this creative industry. While work in digital games production has been characterized as a form of passionate, affective labour, this article examines its specificities as a constraining and enabling force. Affect, particularly passion, serves to render forms of game development oriented towards professionalization and support of the existing industry norms as credible and legitimate, while relegating other types of participation, including that by women and other marginalized creators, to subordinate positions within hierarchies of production. Using the example of a women-in-games initiative in Montreal as a case study, we indicate how linkages between affect and competencies, specifically creativity and technical abilities, perpetuate a long-standing delegitimization of women’s work in digital game design.enAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 InternationalAffectCreative industriesCredibilityCultural productionDigital game designGenderLabourPassionArticle