Welcome to one of the fastest growing hubs
in the Games Industry…Wisconsin!
Companies like Microsoft, Activision, EA, Krafton, Embracer, Bethesda, and Epic Games have all invested in Wisconsin in the Video Game sector. The Games Industry is showing how Wisconsin is more than just the Dairyland of the US.
You might not realize, but Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is actually the birthplace of Dungeons & Dragons!
Trademark Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro, Inc.
If you’re here, you might be pondering a move to Wisconsin to work for one of our myriad of cool gaming companies or maybe you are trying to connect with others in the industry.
Year around, the Midwest has no shortage of activities. In fact, the world’s largest music festival is in Milwaukee every August, the most waterparks in the world are in Wisconsin Dells, and the largest Game Developer conference in the Midwest, M+DEV, is based in Madison every Fall.
Oh and don’t forget to try a supper club, a Friday night fish fry, or one of many breweries, something Wisconsin is famous for. Plus, try a fried cheese curd and find out what all the fuss is about.
Want to learn even more, here are a couple other fun things to know about this great state:
Why Wisconsin?
When you think about Wisconsin, there are some broad generalities that come to mind. Packers. Fly-over country. Cows. Beer. CHEESE. Did we mention the Packers?
While generally not untrue, Wisconsin is in the midst of a industrial shift with large investments by Microsoft and other companies within the state. The state has a combination of very rural areas along with metropolitan cities like Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, and many others. Wisconsin has always been a tourist destination during the summer due to big music festivals, waterparks, and the over 20,000 lakes within the state.
Madison is known as one of the best college-towns in the US and home to the greatest concenration of large game developers in the Midwest. Milwaukee’s revitalized 3rd Ward, Brewery District, and Deer District has brought huge growth and an NBA Championship. Green Bay’s investment into the Titletown District has led to hosting the 2025 NFL Draft and a large number of new startup tech companies being Headquartered in TitletownTech, a Venture Captiral firm from the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft.
Between the kindness of the people and the growth happening, there is no better time than now to come be part of the next hub of innovation.
Wisconsin is beautiful and peaceful.
In the spring, looking out across the plains of Wisconsin’s DairyLand is like your own personal earth-toned Rothko painting. You can find a lot of peace in the natural and agricultural scenery. There are also countless little Norman Rockwell-y towns with charming old storefronts, stunning state and National parks, beautiful lakes and rivers…the whole shebang. You’ll also discover a number of Frank Lloyd Wright designed buildings scattered throughout the state.
The changing of the seasons just accentuates it all. You’ll find out that you have opinions about your favorite type of storm, the best type of snow to watch, or exactly which fall leaf viewing area is the best at which time. An appreciation of nature and the seasons is second nature to Wisconsinites and you learn to appreciate the charm each season brings.
Wisconsin is friendly.
“Midwest Nice” is no joke here. The people want to say hello, how are you, how can I help, and youbetcha! People genuinely care about their neighbor and being fair in how they operate. No one likes to be taken advantage of and the charm of Wisconsin is that the people make sure you aren’t.
If you show up in a little restaurant in the middle of nowhere, flash a smile and talk about the weather, you’ll find kind, warm and generous people everywhere that love this state.
From a work perspective, this means you are surrounded by empathetic and caring individuals that sometimes struggle with giving direct feedback. People are humble and want to raise up those around them.
Winter isn’t that bad.
Seriously, it gets cold, and some years winter drags more than you’d like. However, you make video games, so you are well aware of fun and constructive ways to wile away indoors. Heck, D&D was likely created under these same conditions. Imagine what you can do with the forced inside time.
Alternately, winter activities are amazing!
Skiing, sledding, skating, snowmobiling, sitting by the fire with a brandy old-fashion in hand, or simply playing in the snow. There are so many amazing options! Plus, what better way to make you appreciate the warm weather than a little chill for a few months. A warm beverage never tasted better than on a cold day.
Wisconsin is inexpensive.
If you’re coming from a tech hub on the coasts, you are going to feel like you are living like royalty every time you see a bill. If you’re weighing your salary for the move, keep in mind that your cost of living is a huge factor in terms of how far that salary will go. While you will likely make less, your costs will be cut by even more and quality of life is some of the best in the country.
In fact, Green Bay was named #1 in the “Best Place to Live in the US” by the US News & World Report. Madison was ranked 11th and Milwaukee 65th. From a Quality of Life perspective, Madison ranked 3rd and Green Bay 7th.
You may find that your current rent for a basement broom closet can snag you a two bedroom apartment, or your two bedroom rent can be less than a mortgage on a house.
Wisconsin knows how to eat.
Wisconsin is dead serious about good beer, good meat, and good dairy.
If you have opinions about the optimal year for aging cheddar or find the word “charcuterie” inspires your to have a cabinet of cheese boards, you’re gonna have a good time.
Step into a grocery store, and you’ll find not only a cheese section, but a cheese AISLE. That aisle will have a ton of blocks of different things, probably some things you’ve never heard of. Step into a gas station in the middle of anywhere, and there will likely be a non-assuming fridge case with some of the best tasting, locally-cured jerky and sausage, or maybe even a stand with some landjaegers. Buy one.
If you’re a vegan, the love of cheese and sausage in the state has inspired the creation of some great alternatives to the traditional animal and dairy products, especially Madison.
Madison is great for tech.
Madison is a nice Venn diagram of things you’d like in a smaller city and things you’d like in a larger city. It’s an easy place to feel at home in, and there’s lots of stuff happening.
It’s also seen a tremendous amount of tech growth – places like ZenDesk, Google, and others have invested heavily, and have satellites here. Companies like Epic Systems have built legendary campuses in the sprawling countryside.
Due to the University, there’s also a ton of bio-tech startups. There are several charming Maker Spaces, a bunch of incubators, and generally lots of networking opportunities for tech people (like WGA events!). This is only growing to greater heights with the boom in AI.
Green Bay is growing and changing.
In 2019 a growth plan went into action that involved a partnership between the local Green Bay Packers and the (now) largest company in the world, Microsoft. They formed an $95M early-stage Venture Capital firm called TitletownTech. Fast-forward to today and they’ve invested in a number of tech and game companies. Companies like StatusPRO, Demiplane, and, Wisconsin’s first Video Game Publisher, Midwest Games have helped to put Green Bay on the map in the games industry.
Over 26 companies have been invested in out of Green Bay, they’ve raised another $70M in a second fund that is allowing Green Bay to grow it’s tech and innovation scene in big ways.
This plus the investment in the Titletown and Rail Yard Districts has seen Green Bay evolve as a city. All this effort has already paid off with Green Bay receiving the bid to host the 2025 NFL Draft.
The city has also attracted companies like LiveX, a full-service production company that designs, produces, and broadcasts live events for global brands. LiveX is best known for being the first company to live-stream the New Years ball drop. They now have a custom-built, state-of-the-art studio in the Rail Yard Innovation District.
Wisconsin’s got a lot of game developers!
The entire reason the WGA exists is that we collectively realized that in terms of a collective pool of game development we’re actually kinda a big deal! Raven has been here since 1990, becoming Activision’s FIRST acquisition in 1997. Bethesda has continued to crank out legendary games. Filament Games, PerBlue, and Lost Boys Interactive have grown out of the shadow of these giants into key pillars of the Wisconsin industry. There’s a string of indie studios like Flippfly, Pyramid Lake, Polyculture and others that show that great games can come from every level of development.
Check out the rest of our site, you can see the ever-growing roster of companies doing awesome things with play.
So add it all up, and you’ve got a great place to live and work. Come check it out!