Due to the current state of economic and health affairs, the video game industry has found renewed success because most of its core audience is homebound due to the pandemic. However, it still faces some issues regarding inclusion and diversity.
According to statistics from the International Game Developers Association, gamers from the U.S. alone are mostly split in the middle, with 54% being male and 46% female. Within the industry itself, game developers are primarily male-dominated as well. Only 24% of game developers are known to be women, and a mere 2% are black, while 69% are white, and the rest are of different ethnicities.
The online organization known as Black Girl Gamers has slowly made strides towards inclusion within the industry. They’re also doing their best to try and prevent harassment with an online community for female gamers.
The Hottest Issue: Discrimination
This negative behavior is also one of the most significant issues that the gaming industry has been facing. The industry has been a hotbed of discrimination towards women and people of color for years. It is something that should be a nonissue because most gamers are not even seen visually.
Unfortunately, this form of discrimination has been rampant in other countries as well. In the Philippines alone, there are only two out of 10 females in a group of gamers. Earnings from online gaming promotions are also an issue.
It goes to show that even in cyberspace, discrimination still exists. Perhaps even more so than before because of the anonymity afforded to people in front of their computers. They are far more courageous when it comes to passing women mainly because they feel that there’s a disconnect between real life and the virtual world.
The Role of the Business Community
On the business side of things, investors also play a role in perpetuating discriminatory behavior towards women and other ethnicities and genders in the gaming world. If everybody wants to make a real change, then people should learn to invest in female-led games but only in terms of characters but also when it comes to development.
This move may be a small step for some, but if a lot of people begin to do it, it will become normalized in the coming years, and discrimination will not persist.