LGBTQ+ people spend more on video games. Companies ignore them.

Nearly one in five gamers identify as LGBTQ+, and queer gamers spend more time and money playing video games than cisgender and heterosexual gamers, according to a new report by the queer media watchdog GLAAD.

Despite this, only 2% of video games contain queer storylines or characters, the report added. However, statistics suggest that video game development companies could financially benefit from becoming more inclusive while also helping queer people living in anti-LGBTQ+ communities to feel better.

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In its first-ever in-depth report on LGBTQ+ representation in video games, GLAAD found that LGBTQ+ representation in video games is far lower than queer representation in films. While 2% of video games contain queer storylines or characters, 28.5% of films from the top 10 distributors in 2022 contained LGBTQ+ characters. In TV, 10.6% of series regulars on primetime scripted broadcast series in the 2022-2023 television season were LGBTQ+.

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Game companies don’t often consider including LGBTQ+ content because they don’t see queers as a major part of the core gaming audience and because “they worry about pushing away a core audience that they assume are resistant or hostile to LGBTQ+ content,” GLAAD wrote. The organization wrote that both assumptions are incorrect.

Notably, LGBTQ+ gamers are four to five times more likely than non-queer gamers to buy or play a game because it allows them to play as an LGBTQ+ main character, GLAAD’s report stated. Even the inclusion of LGBTQ+ storylines involving non-playable characters made queer gamers more likely to buy or play a game, the report added. About 72% of LGBTQ+ gamers said that seeing characters that do a good job representing their gender identity and/or sexual orientation makes them feel better about themselves.

There’s also a financial profit for game developers to include more queer content. About 21% of non-LGBTQ+ gamers and 29% of gamers overall said they wished there were more prominent LGBTQ+ storylines in games. These statistics demonstrate that non-queers gamers may appreciate queer game content more than developers previously realized.

Conversely, 70% of LGBTQ+ gamers and 46% of non-queer gamers said they’d be less likely to buy or play a game if it contained harmful tropes or stereotypes about the LGBTQ+ community. Also, 69% of LGBTQ+ gamers and 48% of non-queer gamers were less likely to buy games from a company with a history of mistreating its queer employees.

Queers use video games for escape, but still find harassment

The study also found that LGBTQ+ gamers are 11% more likely than non-queer gamers to use gaming to escape from difficult real-world situations and are 24% more likely to depend on gaming to get them through tough times. These percentages increased for queer people living in states that have recently passed or proposed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

In fact, half of all LGBTQ+ gamers said they felt more accepted by the gaming community than they do where they live. Approximately 66% of LGBTQ+ gamers said that gaming allows them to express themselves in a way they don’t feel comfortable doing in the real world, and 35% of LGBTQ+ gamers said they felt like gaming was their only outlet for socializing with other people.

Despite this, 52% of LGBTQ+ gamers reported experiencing harassment while playing online, compared to 38% of non-queer gamers. About 42% of LGBTQ+ gamers reported avoiding playing a game because they thought they’d be harassed, and 27% quit a game because of harassment. Queer gamers were about 20% more likely than non-LGBTQ+ gamers to avoid using voice chat in online games for fear of harassment.

To remedy all of the aforementioned disparities, GLAAD said that there should at least be an equal proportion of games with LGBTQ+ characters as there are LGBTQ+ people who are gamers. These games should still offer enjoyable and quality gameplay experiences while also daring to tell underrepresented stories in fresh and thought-provoking ways, GLAAD added.

The game industry should also consult LGBTQ+ media content experts and hire queer workers into positions of authority to create effectively inclusive storylines and online communities that are hospitable to queer gamers, GLAAD wrote.

“Games like Dragon Age: Inquisition and The Last of Us Part II have illustrated a growing interest from studios and developers to meaningfully represent LGBTQ people,” wrote Blair Durke, GLAAD’s Associate Director of Gaming. “Nearly 7 in 10 LGBTQ gamers wish there were more prominent LGBTQ storylines in games. Developers have the opportunity to meet a critical need for our community while also expanding their audience.”

“If you’re ignoring [the LGBTQ+] community, you’re doing it to your own detriment,” Durke told Kotaku. “There’s much more to gain by being inclusive and by expanding your audience than by catering to the same old demographic over and over.”

The study also interestingly found that LGBTQ+ gamers prefer single-player (like the adventure game The Legend of Zelda and the life simulation game The Sims) and cooperative games (like the exploration and building game Minecraft) more than competitive games (like the battle arena games Fortnite and League of Legends).