Gamers without Labels is leveling up UCLA’s gaming community.

Since its founding in January 2023, the organization has promoted an inclusive space for historically marginalized genders in gaming, said founding board member Thuyen Tran. Tran, a fourth-year economics student who advises the club’s board, said she became involved with Gamers without Labels after noticing a lack of active casual gaming clubs on campus. With both an online and in-person community, the organization balances the general and more niche aspects of gaming by providing a social network for casual gamers alongside professional guidance into the gaming industry, she said.

“We realized that often in gaming, … people often are ostracized for their gender, and so it can definitely feel demotivating at times,” Tran said. “We wanted to make sure there was a space at UCLA that combated that.”

Tran said Gamers without Labels is unique in that it caters to a broader gaming audience while maintaining principles of inclusivity and accessibility. Co-President Julianna Dy, a fourth-year sociology student, added that she learned about the organization while working for UCLA Esports, Gamers without Labels’ sister club. As a transfer student, Dy said joining Gamers without Labels allowed her to become more involved in a gaming-related organization while making like-minded friends.

Beyond the club’s focus on promoting marginalized genders in gaming, Tran said the community is intersectional and is open to all ethnicities and identities, including cisgender and male-identifying individuals. She said the club’s professional development opportunities also allow incoming students to navigate the gaming market and the job application process, especially if they come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Dy said one of the club’s newest initiatives is a mentorship program that launched in 2024, which pairs members with people from marginalized genders who currently work in the gaming industry. Tran, who organized the mentor-mentee pairings, said maintaining contact amid the mentors’ busy nine-to-five schedules was a challenge. Despite this, Dy said the program provides invaluable insight and inspiration for prospective industry club members, as mentees can find solidarity in their mentors’ shared identities.

Dy said the club also hosts professional coffee chats, featuring industry professionals from a variety of backgrounds.

“Gamers without Labels really inspired me to look into the systemic inequality that was present in the gaming industry, and it’s really inspired me to be able to empower other women in this industry,” Dy said.

Co-President and third-year cognitive science student Jillian Farley said the club hosts general meetings and social events, with her favorite being a “game of the quarter” event that culminates in a picnic with club members. Tran added that the club’s active online community on Discord, a popular social space for gamers, allows for members to play games together remotely and over the summer.

“It went from zero people or three board members to now over 200 Discord members and an active body,” Tran said. “It’s really incredible to see that our vision of having a safe space – no matter how small the club – is coming true.”

As president and social marketing manager in previous years, Tran said she worked to recruit new members by tabling at campus events and increasing the club’s marketing presence. Dy said one of the organization’s biggest challenges has been member retention, especially when ensuring that new members will be able to carry next year’s responsibilities. However, the novelty of Gamers without Labels allows for more creativity in growing the club alongside accessible opportunities for leadership experience, she said.

Tran, who grew up playing video games and now wants to pursue a career in gaming, said the professional opportunities provided by Gamers without Labels were instrumental in helping her land a gaming internship. She added that her favorite event with the club was a tour of Riot Games headquarters from a UCLA alumnus.

In addition to the club’s industry-oriented events, Tran said a great benefit of Gamers without Labels is its casual atmosphere, with game nights and events for students who may be too busy to attend weekly meetings or envision non-gaming career paths.

Above all, Dy said Gamers without Labels provides a unique level of empowerment and inspiration to its members, carving out a space for them to feel safe in both their gaming interests and their identities. Both avid enjoyers of story-based roleplaying games, Dy and Farley said joining the club allowed them to grow a bigger community out of this shared interest.

While playing games was previously a solitary activity for Farley, she said being part of Gamers without Labels has encouraged her to talk about games more often.

“I want to be surrounded by people like me – marginalized genders who love playing video games,” Farley said. “I think it’s just really nice to have a community on campus.”