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Players in the US and UK would like to see more diversity in games

"The protagonists of the game tend to be dominated by males, and the online gaming community of this franchise tends to follow suit"

Players in the US and UK would like to see more diversity in games

Players in the US and the UK would like to see a greater diversity of characters in games, according to a report by Newzoo.

Over the years, many have believed the games market to be dominated by young males. However, there is a high number of females that enjoy playing games as a hobby, as confirmed in a report by Newzoo.

Across both the UK and the US, 45 per cent of gamers are women. Meanwhile, 13 per cent are part of the LGBTQ+ community, while 30 per cent and 20 per cent identify as disabled across the US and UK, respectively.

Furthermore, in the US, 30 per cent of players are Hispanic, black or Asian. Moreover, 13 per cent in the UK belong to an ethnic minority group.

Get diverse

In terms of diversity, many respondents believe it is improving within games. However, the majority think that more could be done for inclusivity.

Furthermore, 54 per cent of US respondents feel diversity is important in characters, while 47 per cent felt the same way in the UK. On top of that, 47 per cent and 41 per cent of those surveyed would avoid a game that was not made for them, in the US and UK, respectively.

One respondent, a straight Asian female aged 28, claimed: "The protagonists of the game tend to be dominated by males, and the online gaming community of this franchise tends to follow suit." She was discussing a game in the adventure genre.

However, LGTBQ+ respondents felt that they were severely underrepresented in games.

Make a stand

On the whole, those surveyed agreed that they are more likely to play a game from a company that takes an active stance on diversity and inclusion.

Nearly half of all players in the US and UK are more likely to pick up a game if publishers make a stance on social issues.

Meanwhile, games are becoming more accessible to players that may have a disability. In the US, 56 per cent of respondents believe accessibility has improved.

Staff Writer

Kayleigh is the Staff Writer for PocketGamer.biz. Besides PGbiz and PCGI she has written as a list writer for Game Rant, rambling about any and all things games related. You can also find her on Twitter talking utter nonsense.