How Safe In Our World defends mental health in the games industry and gaming communities (+ other charities to watch)

For International Day of Charity, Safe In Our World shares its ongoing mission to improve mental health in games, the positive impact already felt across the industry, and top picks for other charities to support.

Today marks another International Day of Charity, a yearly observance (on September 5th) to encourage charitable efforts and raise awareness around the globe. We want to use this day not just to tell you about how you can support our mission to improve mental health across the gaming ecosystem, but also to signpost you to other charities that do amazing work for our community.

There’s a mental health problem in games

People across the video game industry are navigating challenges that significantly impact their mental health. Be it the endless burn and churn or the ongoing avalanche of layoffs, wellbeing across the games industry is suffering.

We’ve already surpassed 10,000 estimated layoffs in 2026 alone, and the latest UKIE games industry report indicated that 60% of the UK games industry live with mental ill health. The pressure is being felt across the globe, and the need for mental health tools, training, and resources has only grown since Safe In Our World was established.

Gaming communities are struggling with their mental health too! Gamers often find themselves navigating high levels of toxicity online, with 74% of gamers reporting that they encounter toxic behaviours in multiplayer games.

This toxicity can perpetuate mental health stigma, making it harder to reach out – and even when you do, long wait times for support can mean problems start to pile up.

Supporting wellbeing in the games industry

So that’s a lot of bad news. Now let’s look at what we can actually do to help, because that’s why Safe In Our World was established. Back in 2019, a group of leaders in the games industry came together to create something that could make a real difference: a charity to support the mental health of those who make games and those who play them.

The mission was simple: to advance mental health awareness across the gaming ecosystem, to empower conversations, and to end stigma. That’s what we’ve been doing over the last six years (nearly seven), by removing barriers to accessing mental health support, resources, and training.

Unlocking mental health support with Safe In Our World

We launched our Level Up Mental Health programme, providing companies of all sizes with access to free toolkits, templates, and downloadable resources that support workplace wellbeing.

We run monthly live webinars (with an exclusive catch-up service for Level Up partners), covering topics such as self-advocacy, compassionate leadership, giving and receiving feedback, and more.

We created the games industry’s first and only mental health accreditation (the Mental Health Star Accreditation), which helps companies of all sizes boost their workplace wellbeing and team retention.

We even provide a subsidised Employee Assistance Programme, allowing everyone (e.g. creators, freelancers, small studio owners) who works in or with games to enjoy the benefits of an affordable EAP.

Ways to help gamers with their mental health

Through partnerships with companies like Ubisoft and AbleToPlay, we’ve been able to bring mental health initiatives to life and help gamers learn about mental health and their own emotional wellbeing.

Following the success of the original Good Game Playbook in 2023, we partnered with Ubisoft to create three downloadable playbooks – this time for kids, teens, and parents. We adapted to the varying ages of young gamers and provided parents with tools to help their children engage safely with online games.

Last year, Safe In Our World partnered with AbleToPlay – a free, community-driven platform that helps gamers with disabilities find games they can fully enjoy. Our collaboration resulted in a brand-new category – Headspace – to help gamers filter out potential triggers, find games that fit their mood, or even discover games that offer educational insights on mental health.

You can read more in our Impact Report for 2025-2026.

How partnering with Safe In Our World can help

Everyone has the potential to help further our mission, whether you’re a creator with a passion for fundraising, or a studio leader who shares our vision of a safer games industry for all.

We’re always on the lookout for:

• Charity patrons, ambassadors, and collaborators
• Sponsors in the games industry
• Aspiring Level Up or Accreditation partners
• People to help us with research
• Writers willing to share their lived experience
• Fundraisers ready to shoot for the stars

We’ve already helped over 300 companies (70,000+ employees) with free mental health resources, and delivered over $450,000 in free training across the industry. We’ve made online communities safer by training 350+ community leaders in Mental Health Awareness and First Aid.

We’ve published a self-care journal, delivered a global game jam, amplified voices across the industry to increase empathy and understanding – and we’re not done.

Get in touch with our Business Development & Fundraising Manager, Eben, to discuss how partnering with Safe In Our World can help you, your team, and the wider games industry.

Other charities making a real difference in (and out of) games

But it’s not International Day of Safe In Our World – that’d probably be our birthday, October 10th (World Mental Health Day), which is coming up soon, so get in touch if you want to do something special with us! In the meantime, we’d like to tell you about just some of the other charities we love.

At every event we attend, we’re crossing our fingers in the hopes to run into the wonderful team behind Special Effect. This organisation is levelling the playing field for disabled gamers. Using customised technology such as eye-tracking, chin switches, modified controllers, and more, they adapt gaming setups to a player’s individual physical needs.

Then there’s Into Games (launched the same year as us), a UK-based non-profit organisation with a mission to create a fair and equitable pathway to skill development and career progression for the games and immersive industries.

We’ve partnered with PAPYRUS UK to bring you a free suicide prevention training session (Wed 9 September 2026) which you can book now – or visit their website to learn more about suicide prevention in young people.

YGAM is the UK’s leading charity for preventing gaming and gambling harms among young people – a vitally important step in safeguarding mental health. The training they provide helps people develop a deeper understanding of young people’s digital lives and contribute to safer digital spaces.

And we couldn’t finish up without telling you about our friends at Blueprint For All – empowering young people across the UK to kickstart their careers by connecting them with opportunities, resources, events, and bursaries. While they weren’t established with games in mind, they play a vital role in removing barriers to the education and support young people need to reach their potential – and for that we applaud them!

Further support with your mental health

You can find many more charities, organisations, helplines and crisis lines on our Find Help page if you (or someone you care about) need mental health support.

Whoever you choose to support, thank you for making time and contributing your energy to charitable organisations. We can only do what we do because of the people behind us, donating, sponsoring, fundraising… empowering us. Let’s keep making this world safer together.