There’s a long-perpetuated stereotype that gamers are typically white male teenagers. However, significant evidence shows this is untrue. A quick skim of Twitch and YouTube creators from around the world shows the many different faces that coalesce within the gaming sphere. With titles ranging from FIFA and Fortnite to Call of Duty and Super Smash Bros., one would be hardpressed to find only a pocket stereotype of players these days.
The industry raked in $43.3 billion in 2018 alone, and analysts are pointing to diversity as a key driving factor.
A Game of Numbers
The gaming industry is making strides toward a more inclusive environment, as PAX West 2019 demonstrated recently with its emphasis on diversity. A report from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) revealed that 41% of US gamers are women. In esports, Dominique "SonicFox" McLean and his team are redefining gamer stereotypes. Not only is SonicFox an esports champion, having won $600,000 thus far in his career, but the gamer is also a person of color who recently came out as gay and identifies as a non-binary male. While the gaming community is not always touted as such, these examples prove it can be welcoming to all.
Games themselves haven't always represented diverse points of view. This has drastically improved in recent years, but there's still a way to go. To understand why these issues remain, one might look to the people who are making video games.
As Katie Gilsenan points in her blog post:
"The gender ethnicity gap between creators and players is still a reality in 2019, with fewer game developers being from diverse backgrounds.
To address these issues, people in the industry can start by asking the right questions. Who's the real target audience and, more importantly, who is creating the games they play?
A Way To Improve
Though sometimes met with player backlash and marred by underlying political implications, diverse representation in games themselves ultimately helps bridge the gap between the audience and the titles they digest.
While modern games like Battlefield V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and games in the Call of Duty series draw inspiration from specific periods in history, they place a great deal of emphasis on including a diverse cast of characters. Look at Overwatch, which seeks to promote inclusion and features two gay characters, Soldier 76 and Tracer. There's also Ellie from The Last of Us. Apex Legends has two characters that identify as LBGTQ. Borderlands 3 also features several characters whose backgrounds showcase a commitment to diversity, including the nonbinary FL4K.
Developers and publishers will always come under fire in efforts to promote diversity. Main among these complaints is this very argument about representation. At what point does it become pandering and forced?
In the gaming community, there's a divide between those complaining about it and those hungering for more. Unfortunately, it's impossible to make all gamers happy.
However, it's clear that the ESA, along with many publishers and developers, want to address these issues. There's a precedent for inclusion, one that forecasts a far brighter tomorrow. It's a future that exudes compassion while striving for more connection.
A few weeks ago, the ESA gave out $111,000 in scholarships to promote diversity. It's a major step in building a more inclusive culture for the future, not only for in-game narratives but in providing opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds to create them.
Upcoming titles such as Death Stranding and Cyberpunk 2077, drive inclusion home by inherently promoting it. Hideo Kojima's highly anticipated title showcases a devastated dystopian America left fractured in the wake of a post-apocalyptic event. Though helmed by a white male protagonist, played by Norman Reedus, Death Stranding still exerts this message of connection with a narrative that has players literally reconnecting America in its darkest hour.
Cyberpunk 2077 likewise showcases a future dystopian America ruled by cybernetic enhancements and bio-engineering. CDProjekt Red has completely rid the game of male and female character customization, allowing the players far more area of personal creation. What makes these games different from others is their efforts to open the floodgates for discussion through symbolic and meaningful themes.
Diversifying the Future
Instead of using games to force ideologies on players, developers and publishers alike should draw on their imaginations as their basis for inclusion. With creative efforts, video games can curb stereotypes and underline issues that plague the industry at large, all the while fixing them in the process. It goes beyond playability. It's about allowing for a wider audience and a more diverse setlist of games well into the future.
Connection is key to maintaining a more diverse gaming industry.