Games with black leads and characters were forced to be mocked. Female characters “suffered from” being deemed unattractive or masculine.given chin, Dragon Age: The VeilgardIt was criticized by far-right trolls for its customization options, which allow players to create a character with top surgery scars or play with a non-binary partner. After the reviews were released, conspirators resorted to clichés or other language as evidence that studio BioWare was instructing reviewers on how to talk about their games.
Even unreleased titles faced bombardment. compulsion game' south of midnightAbout a young black woman from the Deep South who drew the ire of the anti-DEI crowd on platforms like X, where she Photoshopped The heroine must make her look less “repulsive” and put forward conspiracy theories about Sweet Baby's influence on the game's development.
But the pressure to remain apolitical – a curious agenda for an entertainment genre that matches the artistic priorities of narrative and fantasy worlds, while giving agency to the players who inhabit them – didn't just come from a vocal minority. After the release of Black Myth: Wukongwere some streamers gave instructions Avoid talking about COVID-19 or “feminist propaganda.” The guidelines had the opposite effect, encouraging streamers to go ahead with the code words they were banned from: actually a pushback against the standards created to censor players.
looking forward 2025, Ball says he typically hears more pessimism, but “it's useless to just speculate, let alone predict.” If there's a plus, he says, it's that “there are more hires happening than generally thought.” The downside is, it's not nearly compensating overall, especially in the indies.”
As 2024 approaches, the industry is operating with an outside-in-business-as-usual mentality. In early December, developers gathered in Los Angeles to celebrate at The Game Awards. On stage, amid game announcements, applause, and a performance by Snoop Dogg, host Geoff Keighley gave a short speech.
“The sad reality is that the gaming industry has faced significant and unprecedented industrywide layoffs over the past few years,” Keighley said. “These influence the games we play and, more importantly, the people who make the games we love. We can debate and certainly disagree about the reasons for this, and honestly as a show we struggle to address these topics in a constructive way.
Keighley used the segment to present the TGA's first “Game Changer” award, a nod to an individual who has made a positive impact on the industry. The show then continued, with major announcements about major projects such as the witcher 4 and next title the last of us Developer Naughty Dog.
Amidst all this there is also the ghost of AI. There's still little known about how much AI will continue to grow and how future games might use it, but it's a growing anxiety Just like ordinary employees are fired from their jobs. No one knows when or if the industry will bounce back with sustainable jobs and compensation. Yes, there will be games to play. It is difficult to say how many people will be able to make these.