LGBTQ advocacy non-profit GLAAD’s inaugural gaming report has found that almost 20 per cent of active gamers identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer (LGBTQ), but less than 3 per cent of games contain LGBTQ content.
“Particularly for LGBTQ gamers, gaming is not only an escape and source of entertainment, but also an important outlet of self-expression,” said the organisation’s president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.
“It is past time for LGBTQ gamers to see our community represented in games that they play and to be safe while they connect with other gamers and express themselves.”
The number of gamers identifying as a member of the LGBTQ community has risen by 70 per cent since 2020. Within this demographic, the percentage increases among the younger ages – 23 to 28 per cent of gamers who are under 35 years old.
Across platforms, LGBTQ gamers prefer open world games, simulation games, RPGs, horror games and puzzle games. On the other hand, non-LGBTQ gamers are more likely to play shooters. Both groups like adventure, action RPG, fighting, and battle royale games equally.
In terms of purchasing preferences, LGBTQ gamers are 1.4 times more likely than non-LGBTQ gamers to buy or play a game because it lets them play as a character that matches their own gender.
Yet, GLAAD appraised the number of games that have been tagged as containing LGBTQ content across PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch in November 2023.
Games that had this content tag accounted for less than two per cent of Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo’s roster of titles available on their digital storefronts. Regarding Steam, the proportion is slightly higher at less than 2.5 per cent.
“That less than two per cent of available games have LGBTQ content is out of step with contemporary media, and the game industry is failing LGBTQ consumers and our allies,” read the report.
The report in its entirety is available here.
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