Video games have been around since the 1950s and have only grown in popularity over the decades. In 2022, it was recorded that 65% of adults and 71% of minors in the US were gamers. There have been many pivotal moments in video game history: booms, crashes, console wars, but now the gaming industry faces a new challenge—an oversaturation of political messaging. And this push to inject modern political issues into gaming has created a massive divide among gamers, developers, and the industry as a whole.
Now the question remains, can video games survive this new battle for creative control?
Well, it seems that the West is struggling, and Eastern game studios, such as Square Enix, are moving beyond them. Square Enix announced massive layoffs across its Western departments, which appear to be affecting everyone outside Japan. This decision is very likely due to their Western employees creating controversy. For instance, Kate Cwynar, the former head of localization for Square Enix, was fired after openly supporting the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
In another example, Sony recently fired an artist who worked on “Ghost of Yotei” for joking about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. “Ghost of Yotei” also suffered from its lead actress’s political advocacy for terrorist groups like ANTIFA. Many gamers have turned against the “Ghost of Tsushima” sequel after these comments were dug up.
Many people do not want political messages pushed on them while playing, and gamers certainly do not want to play games made by people who call for political violence. This sentiment can undoubtedly be seen from discussions online:
“Perhaps the game would of been better if they focused less real world ‘problems’ and more on making a good game. The sad truth is that video game developers are no longer making games for gamers they’re making them for political activists.”
– Craig
“What gamers get peed off at is a game being used as a soapbox for certain modern political ideals. Where the personal politics precedes the developments of a video game or is made in reaction to current day political drama. It often comes across as badly written void of subtly and nuance and one-sided.”
“‘Politics’ typically means ‘bad writing’.”
The tragedy of the situation is that Western games used to be champions for fun and unique game design, but have quickly fallen by the wayside in recent years. AAA games have lost their quality, turning into glorified cutscenes with slow, drawn-out walking sections and in-game purchases. Frankly, people are no longer interested in funding that.
Recently, Ubisoft was bought out of studio closer by Chinese investors after fan backlash with the release of the controversial “Assassin’s Creed: Shadows.” A game that many consider to be historically inaccurate and offensive to Japanese culture, especially with the inclusion of a black samurai. Ubisoft announced that it was creating a new gaming subsidiary with Tencent, investing 1.16 billion Euros into the unit.
These controversies, backlashes, and massive sales losses for gaming studios have become something of a common occurrence in recent years. Many companies have even gone out of their way to demonize their players, calling fans toxic for not agreeing with their messaging or expressing displeasure with the quality. So now, gamers simply are not buying games anymore.
Meanwhile, the AAA game developer’s fall from grace has led to indie games growing in popularity. Gamers do not have faith in the industry anymore, as it will praise games that consumers are rejecting, such as “The Last of Us Part II,” which won Game of the Year in 2020, but was widely hated among Last of Us fans for the brutal killing of the first game’s protagonist, Joel, and heavily pushing progressive ideologies. The company that developed the game, Naughty Dog, also began copyright-striking YouTubers who criticized it when it was first released in 2020.
The AAA industry was also damaged following the Sweet Baby Inc. controversy, a consulting company that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion in game narratives and studios.
“We approach sensitivity by working with your existing narrative and documentation to bring out its natural authenticity and emotional resonance.”
– Sweet Baby Inc.
Sweet Baby’s involvement with games like “Alan Wake 2,” “Spider-Man 2,” “Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League,” “God of War Ragnarok,” and “Gotham Knights,” has only proved to make the games worse off, as many gamers have expressed their displeasure with the company’s narrative involvement. Some have even associated Sweet Baby’s organization with the downgrade of gaming. Many feel that tokenism for the sake of tokenism does not make for a good game, and these companies are sacrificing creativity for ESG points.
Developers are so hyper-focused on identity politics that they are forgetting to make something that people actually want to play. And there is a significant drop in quality in modern games due to this push for representation over producing quality products. These problems were definitely evident in the release of “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League,” which sparked massive backlash due to its poor game design, live-service features, and widely hated story.
Even casual gamers have begun to notice the problems and are no longer buying modern games. More than anything, it seems that gamers will no longer tolerate the disrespect the industry shows them, especially with the rising cost of games.
In 1977, video games cost around $39.99, while in 2020 the prices jumped up between $69.99 and $100. Naturally, inflation must be taken into account when comparing prices. Still, with the low quality of modern games and seemingly endless contentions within the industry, many are questioning if the price tag is worth it. Gamers are forced to be more picky about what they buy, which plays into the ongoing decline in sales. And with rising prices in every aspect of life, most people can’t afford to pay almost $100 for every new game that releases.
Ultimately, game developers need to make a change. Gamers are rejecting their political agendas, and these boycotts will only continue if the controversies persist. Video games are meant to be enjoyed; people do not want to be lectured or talked down to while trying to enjoy their entertainment, and they should not be expected to by developers. If the gaming industry wants to thrive, it needs to cut the politics and focus on making great games that everyone can enjoy, regardless of political affiliation.