THE INSTITUTE
The Business Case
Authentic representation is good for business.
With well over three billion people playing video games worldwide, players of all ages, backgrounds, and perspectives are connected through the shared joy of gaming. However, various studies have revealed a sizable gap between who today’s players are and their reflection on screen.
While there is a strong business case for representation, gaming scholar Adrienne Shaw cautions that there are limitations in this thinking because it “positions marginalized groups’ representation as contingent upon their consumption of the medium and gives the impression that if no women played games, there would be no case for representing women well or making them protagonists in games.” Instead, Shaw challenges us to view diversity as the “expected norm” of innovation to open up the creative possibilities for the entire universe of players.
Video games provide spaces for more than just entertainment. They are spaces to explore new ideas and different ways of life, try on alternate identities, solve problems, strategize, and connect with players from all walks of life. The GDI Playbook presents an opportunity to break new ground in terms of authentic and inclusive representation in gaming, helping creators craft new realms where all players have an opportunity to belong.
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* Data from U.S. and UK sources
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References
1 Le, M. T. N. (2022, April 8).. "Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Games: Gamers Want Less Toxicity in Games and Want Publishers to Take a Stance." Newzoo, Retrieved from https://newzoo.com/resources/blog/newzoos-gamer-sentiment-diversity-inclusion-gender-ethnicity-sexual-identity-disability
2 Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. "The Double-Edged Sword of Online Gaming: An Analysis of Masculinity in Video Games and the Gaming Community." Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, 2023, Retrieved from https://geenadavisinstitute.org/research/the-double-edged-sword-of-online-gaming-an-analysis-of-masculinity-in-video-games-and-the-gaming-community/
3 Shell, Jethro. (2021). “What Do We See: An Investigation Into the Representation of Disability in Video Games”. 10.48550/arXiv.2103.17100
4 GLAAD. "GLAAD’s Inaugural GLAAD Gaming Report Finds Growing Number of LGBTQ Gamers While LGBTQ Characters in Games Lag Far Behind." GLAAD, 7 Apr. 2022. Retrieved from https://glaad.org/releases/glaads-inaugural-glaad-gaming-report-finds-growing-number-of-lgbtq-gamers/
5 Entertainment Software Association. (2024). Essential facts about the gaming industry. Retrieved from https://www.theesa.com/essential-facts-about-the-gaming-industry/.
6 Rennick, Stephanie, et al. "Gender Bias in Video Game Dialogue." Royal Society Open Science, vol. 10, no. 2, 2023, article 221095, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221095.
7 Google. 2022 PC & Console Insights Report. Google, 2022. Retrieved from https://games.withgoogle.com/reports/2022-pc-console-insights-report/
8 Nielsen Video Game Tracker Survey June 2024
9 Take This. "Research Report: Toxic Gamers Are Alienating Your Core Demographic – The Business Case for Community Management." Take This, 16 Aug. 2023. Retrieved from https://www.takethis.org/2023/08/research-report-toxic-gamers-are-alienating-your-core-demographic-the-business-case-for-community-management/
10 Burrus, A., Hines, A., Rivas-Lara, S., & Uhls, Y.T. (2024). CSS Teens & Screens 2024.Center for Scholars & Storytellers. Retrieved from https://www.scholarsandstorytellers.com/teens-screens-24.
11 Deloitte Digital. "Media Reimagined: Investing in Inclusive Representation Is the Right Thing to Do on Every Level." Deloitte Digital, 23 May 2023, Retrieved from https://www.deloittedigital.com/us/en/insights/perspective/media-reimagined.html
12 Shaw, A. (2017). Diversity without defense: Reframing arguments for diversity in games. Kinephanos, 54-76.. Retrieved from http://www.kinephanos.ca/Revue_files/2017_Shaw.pdf​​
