Shane Evans, CEO and co-Founder of GameDriver, speaks to us how the gaming industry is thriving in uncertain times

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

Shane Evans: Fairly well. We are used to working from home, and it’s nice to spend more time with each other.

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded GameDriver

Shane Evans: I started GameDriver, Inc. with two longtime friends and colleagues with whom I had worked with in the Enterprise Test Automation space for many years. We saw a need and an opportunity to bring our experience to the massive video gaming industry, which has primarily relied on manual testing for over 30 years.

How does GameDriver innovate? 

Shane Evans: GameDriver brings a proven approach for test automation to the gaming industry, as well as any company using gaming technologies to create immersive experiences in AR and VR, by embedding our unique IP in the game engine itself, giving complete control over the state of the game during replay without having to make significant changes to the game. Our approach gives testers the tools to increase coverage, accelerate execution, and time to feedback to the developers, reducing the dependency on manual testing, which can make or break a project.

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping?

Shane Evans: Our strategy has remained largely the same, with the exception of attending industry events in person. The gaming industry has been very resilient to the pandemic, as well as the economic swings of the past, and continues to outperform expectations.

Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?

Shane Evans: As co-founders, we decided now was the time to accelerate growth by pursuing capital partnerships, while the industry is undergoing a tremendous shift to remote work caused by the pandemic. This shift magnifies the need for automation.

How do you deal with stress and anxiety? How do you project yourself and GameDriver in the future?

Shane Evans: Eat well, exercise, stay in touch with loved ones, and stay positive. We will get through this if we take care of one another, in business and life.

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

Shane Evans: Our primary competition is the status quo. Inexpensive manual labor has been the backbone of this industry for decades, but as games get larger and more complex and as immersive technologies penetrate the Enterprise, the need for quality is paramount. The answer can’t simply be to “throw more bodies at it.” Companies need to work smarter.

Your final thoughts

Shane Evans: In these trying times, we need to remember that we’re all connected. What affects one person will impact everyone else.

Your Website?

http://gamedriver.io