The most notorious, violent and often sexist video game “Grand Theft Auto” is finally letting a playable female character into its testosterone-fueled world, capping a broader trend toward greater inclusion in the gaming industry.
The pressure comes from gamers demanding wider representation and a new generation of game designers who are sensitive to the issue.
The result is “Lucia,” who appeared in a trailer released Tuesday for the 2025 “Grand Theft Auto VI” game.
Grand Theft Auto was often a lightning rod for criticism, but the wider industry was hardly a beacon of light.
Major sexual harassment scandals have engulfed video game companies Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft in recent years.
And activists have long complained about a lack of diversity among staff at gaming companies and often stereotypical portrayals of minorities within games.
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The industry, however, has listened and change is coming.
Ashley Reed, Respawn Entertainment’s lead writer for the Apex Legends game, said the industry “became more aware” of how women in particular were being objectified.
He said: “A lot of the people who work in games now are people who grew up with video games, saw this and said, ‘That doesn’t appeal to me.’
“Inclusive hairstyles”
Studios desperate to avoid public shaming have started using sensitized readers to make sure content respects different cultures – though critics see them as censors.
Studios are also hiring inclusion directors to promote hiring from diverse backgrounds and inject more knowledge into their creative teams—Ubisoft started this in 2021.
“My role is really to explain to them how their ideas will be perceived and how they can avoid falling into traps that can create stereotypes,” says Jennifer Lufau, a French video game inclusion consultant.
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Lufau, who is also the founder of Afrogameuses, an association that advocates for better representation of black women in the video game industry, said major studios are asking themselves real questions about inclusion.
“The drive mostly comes from the players,” he said.
He cites as an example the “bad buzz” around “Animal Crossing”, Nintendo’s social interaction game, which exploded in popularity during the Covid lockdown.
A woman from Denver in the US, Taniesha Bracken, started an online petition in 2020 when she noticed that her black character couldn’t choose to have afro hair.
Tens of thousands joined her and eventually Nintendo changed their options.
“I can’t believe it, but Nintendo heard us,” Bracken wrote at the time. “We have more inclusive hairstyles! I cried when I found out.”
“Find our difference”
Although the big studios have the money and resources, the push for change is often felt earlier at the smaller, independent studios.
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“You can’t compete with the very big studios at home,” said Oskar Guilbert of French studio Don’t Nod.
His studio caused a sensation in 2015 with the series “Life is Strange” for its pioneering representation of LGBTQ+ characters.
“We have to find our difference and that’s how we found it,” he said.
He said the game was repeatedly rejected before Japanese publisher Square Enix took a chance.
Native languages and indigenous peoples are also highlighted by Don’t Nod.
The Alaskan Tlingit people appear in the game “Tell Me Why,” and one of the actors in “Banishers” took lessons in Scottish Gaelic to make sure he got the accents right.
But not everyone is happy with the increased sensitivity in games.
British YouTuber HeelvsBabyface went viral in September with a rant about Starfield, a game that allows players to choose their gender and pronoun.
He accused the game’s creators of dragging players away from the immersive world with “pronouns, gender ambiguity” and “current California bullshit.”
Source: AFP