The Data

To start, we decided to focus on some of the most popular multiplayer competitive games

Some of these titles include, League of Legends, Valorant, CS:GO, Dota 2, Fortnite, Rainbow Six, and Overwatch. Research was done to look into how these games supported the queer community and discouraged toxicity and harassment. We also talked to gaymers on their own thoughts for how games can be more welcoming.

Additionally, we posted a survey on various locations on the internet where gamers may be lurking to better understand their experiences with other singleplayer or roleplay games.

What Gamers Told Us

When it comes to having more representation in games:

"I love it, as long as it’s on par with the storylines of cishet characters in the game, otherwise it feels like a cash grab."
"Yes. Please. Do it, but do it well."
"I think as long as it’s written by LGBT+ writers then I’m all for it"

When it comes to what developers could do:

"Commit to positive and/or complicated queer relationships between characters. Representing marginalized groups in prominent, well-written roles that don’t solely revolve around their marginalized identity (but not ignoring it altogether, either. By not stereotyping or tokenizing us."

"Be less defensive, a lot of times when someone is questioned on why their games lack representation they’ll become very defensive and angry. It’s better to just accept you did something wrong and move on"

Riot Games

When it comes to League of Legends, it's well known to be a toxic environment. Riot has definitely improved when it comes to cracking down on toxicity. Given there's only text chat, League's Instant Feedback System provides quick verdict when players are reported. After four offenses, players are permanently banned.

With Valorant being the supposed "CS:GO Killer", it's bound to bring in toxic players from the CS:GO community. Riot's decision to record voice communications to combat toxicity and harassment will hopefully create a better environment for marginalized groups.

Riot Games has pushed for its games to be more inclusive over the years. In 2018, it introduced Neeko, the first genderfluid lesbian champion to League of Legends. In the past few years, it has held pride events in its games along with donated to the It's Gets Better Project.

Valve

While Valve holds the counterparts to Riot's League of Legends and Valorant with Dota 2 and CS:GO, they have done little to limit harassment or support the LGBTQ+ community.

Players are rarely punished if at all for harassment in CS:GO and the community itself is also somewhat toxic. An incident in 2020 had a Chinese player brandishing "LGBT Slayer" named knife during a CS:GO tournament. After being called out by the commentator, the community laughed off the incident instead of condemning it. When it comes to Dota, players are able to report others but Valve is very vague when it comes to punishments. The more reports that occur on an account can pile up and eventually result in a permanent ban after several warnings.

Epic Games

Epic Games' largest game Fortnite has little to no representation from the LGBTQ+ community. In 2020, CEO Tim Sweeney stated at a conference that politics should stay out of games. Within Fortnite, there is little regulation preventing harassment. Players are only able to report those who killed them. Fortnite doesn't have text chat and only has voice chat, however there is no evidence to show players have been punished for harassment.

Blizzard

Blizzard has made some questionable decisions in the past such as alligning themselves with homophobic policies when it came to LGBQT+ World of Warcraft Guilds. Also previously known for its toxic community, Blizzard has cracked down on harassment in Overwatch by implementing machine learning programs, making for a more enjoyable experience. In addition, the first two characters, Tracer and Soldier 76, players are introduced to in Overwatch were revealed to be gay.

Ubisoft

After very little regulation, Ubisoft released an automated banning system for Rainbow Six Seige in 2018 that banned players who used racial, homophobic and other slurs. The duration of these bans increased and after the third ban, accounts could be investigated and banned permanently. Ubisoft has taken a strong stance on preventing any sort of harassment or toxicity. In February 2021, Ubisoft added Flores, an openly gay operator and the first LGBTQ+ representation in the game.