{"id":2396,"date":"2026-03-09T10:08:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T09:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.videogames4good.eu\/?p=2396"},"modified":"2026-03-09T10:09:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T09:09:38","slug":"measuring-social-impact-the-sroi-challenge-for-indie-game-developers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.videogames4good.eu\/?p=2396","title":{"rendered":"Measuring social impact: the SROI challenge for indie game developers\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Cover image : freepik.com<\/h5>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Measuring social impact: the SROI challenge for indie game developers <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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For many indie developers, the mission to create a positive impact is clear, but the numbers to prove it often are not. Even if <\/span>\u201cSerious Games\u201d<\/span><\/b> are created with measurable educational or therapeutic goals in mind, applying the SROI (Social Return on Investment) framework presents unique challenges.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

How do you measure the value of \u201cawareness\u201d? And when the audience is international, how can you track the effects across different cultures and economies?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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What exactly is SROI? <\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Developed in the late 1990s by the <\/span>Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF)<\/span><\/b> and refined by <\/span>Social Value International (SVI)<\/span><\/b>, SROI is a principle-based methodology that measures the social, environmental, and economic value created by your work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Unlike a simple Return on Investment (ROI) which only tracks financial profit, SROI tells a story of change. For example, if your SROI analysis results in a ratio of <\/span>3:1<\/span><\/b>, it means that for every \u20ac1 invested in your game, \u20ac3 of social value is generated for your players and the community.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The case of Relooted <\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Let’s take a powerful example: <\/span>Relooted<\/span><\/i>, developed by South African studio <\/span>Nyamakop<\/span><\/b>. In this Afrofuturist heist game, players take on the role of \u201cethical thieves\u201d who recover stolen African artifacts (such as the Benin Bronzes or the Maqdala Crown) from Western museums to return them to their rightful owners.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The game is masterful in making complex colonial history accessible. However, calculating a traditional SROI for Relooted is difficult for two main reasons:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

  1. The international audience:<\/span><\/b> If a player in Germany learns about the Vigango statues, the \u201csocial value\u201d of that knowledge is different than for a player in Kenya whose community is still awaiting restitution. Tracking these global outcomes requires resources that most indie studios do not have.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ol>
    1. Awareness vs. Action:<\/span><\/b> Although the game succeeds in \u201crewriting the narrative of restitution,\u201d converting a player’s change in perspective into monetary value requires complex financial proxies that, in a commercial context, may seem speculative.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      Source: <\/span><\/span>https:\/\/nyamakop.co.za\/relooted\/<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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      A new perspective: SROI for the creative team <\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      If measuring the impact on players seems like an impossible task, there is another effective way to use SROI: <\/span>measuring the impact on the development team itself.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

      Video game development is often associated with fast pace and high stress. By applying the SROI framework internally, a studio can measure how the creative process improves the lives of its members:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>