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Games with black lines and characters were derided as forced. Female characters deemed unattractive or masculine suffered “DEI chin“. Dragon Age: The Veilguardwas criticized by far-right trolls for its customization options, which allow players to create characters with the best surgical scars or play with a non-binary companion. After the reviews were published, conspirators clicked on clichés or other language as evidence that BioWare was instructing reviewers on how to talk about their game.
Even unreleased titles were bombarded by must-have games.” South of midnightwhich tells the story of a young black woman in the Deep South who has sparked outrage against DEI from mobs on platforms like X where they with photoshop heroine to make herself seem less “repulsive” and spawned conspiracy theories about Sweet Baby’s influence on the game’s development.
But the pressure to remain apolitical, an interesting agenda for an entertainment form that marries the artistic preferences of narrative and fantasy worlds and the freedom afforded to players who inhabit them, didn’t just come from a vocal minority A black myth. Wukong:were some streamers instructions given avoid talking about Covid-19 or “feminist propaganda”. The guidelines had the opposite effect, encouraging broadcasters to lead with code words they were prohibited from using; pushing standards that actually censored players.
Looking ahead In 2025, Ball says he’s hearing more pessimism overall, but it’s “just uncomfortable to think about, let alone predict.” If there’s one upside, he says, it’s that “a lot more work are accepted than is commonly assumed. The downside is that it generally doesn’t pay off much, especially in India.”
As 2024 draws to a close, the industry is operating in a business-as-usual mindset. Earlier in December, developers gathered in Los Angeles to celebrate The Game Awards, with host Jeff Kelly giving a small speech on stage amid game announcements, praise, and a performance by Snoop Dogg.
“The sad reality is that the games industry has been hit with significant and unprecedented layoffs across the industry over the past few years,” said Keely on who makes our favorite games. We can debate and certainly disagree with the reasons, and honestly, as a show, we kind of struggle with how to constructively address these topics.”
Keighley used the segment to present the TGA’s first ‘game changer’ award, a nod to an individual who has positively impacted the industry.Then the show continued with headline-grabbing announcements of major projects such as The Witcher 4: and the next title The last of us developer Naughty Dog.
There’s the specter of AI in all of this. There’s still little understanding of how much AI will continue to grow and how future games might use it, but it a growing concern as the rank and file are laid off. No one knows when or if the industry will return with stable jobs and compensation. Yes, there will be games to play. It is more difficult to say how many people will be able to make them.
