In 2021, there are expected to be around 2.7 billion gamers in the world. And while there is still the preconception that gamers are men, young, white, middle and upper class, the current reality makes us know that the players are very diverse, where about half are women, and the ranks of age, fluctuate from 15 to 50 years. Furthermore, we see a growing identity about a group called “gaymers.”
Gaymers are a community of gamers openly belonging to the LGBTQ + community, and today, according to a study by Nielsen, they represent more than 10% of the total number of gamers in the world. Of this percentage, 40% identify as gay or lesbian, 50% identify as bisexual, and 10% identify as transgender or non-binary.
One of the main issues when we talk about inclusion is manifested in representativeness, on the one hand, in how LGBT + characters are represented in video games and, on the other, in how they participate in the design, creation, distribution and promotion of games, in order to have images that represent more perspectives.
Representativeness is important
Given this, we see a growing trend in which video games include a greater number of characters, and although we still see a majority of main characters that are heterosexual, white men, who are the main character. On the other hand, we see a very positive trend of naturally including diverse characters.
One of last year’s award-winning video games, Hades, which tells the story of Zagreus, the son of Hades in his quest to escape from the underworld and who, on his way, meets and has sentimental and personal relationships with gay or bisexual characters, is a clear example of this type of trend.
Or cases like Cyberpunk 2077, where the main characters interact differently according to the genre chosen by the player, changing the relationship based on the interactions. Which leads to being able to have heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual relationships in the game. And that breaks with the paradigm of the open world games of past years, where if your character was female, she could only have relationships with men or vice versa.
And it is that according to Newzoo, 54% of the players think that diversity is important in their characters, that it creates reality much closer to life, adds complexity and above all generates a relationship with their own experiences, and that according to The same study found that 47% of gamers do not play games with which they do not feel identified.
There are even small actions that allow a better representation, and that does not necessarily include the relationship with the characters but the way in which as a user you communicate with the game. As an example, the ability that the new Forza Horizon title will grant, which although it is a car game, will allow you to choose pronouns within the game, different from him or her.
What are developer companies doing in terms of inclusion?
Although the gaming industry has been widely criticized for being in many cases sexist or not very inclusive, we see efforts from studios or manufacturers that seek to change this trend. On the one hand, driven by the diversity of audiences and on the other, thinking about the value that users give to brands based on their social position.
One of the points where you can look is Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) that in the last index carried out by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation received a perfect score at “” and became one of the Best Places to Work on LGBTQ + equality. .
Also, especially at the time, we see lists of inclusive games on the PlayStore, Xbox Game Pass or Steam, which are worth looking at and, critically, supporting studies that seek representativeness. Portals such as Gayming Magazine also do an important job to tell the gaming experience from a different perspective.
It is a reality that, although steps are taken in life for inclusion, we are still far from generating equality of representation and opportunities regardless of your sexual orientation. We also know that we are taking steps towards understanding the bigger picture and that this work of equality, fairness and acceptance goes beyond a day of Pride.
We must be aware that it is a daily job and that this date should be a time of reflection on what we do well and what we do badly throughout the year. The gaming industry should be an example of good practice.
