Want to get into video games? Already a gamer, but want to know about the world of queer gaming? This guide will help you get started WORDS ELI CUGINI ARTWORK ANISA CLEAVER The world of video games can be a strange place for queer people; we’re everywhere within it – ‘game developer’ is a trans stereotype at this point – yet we’re still marginal to the scene and rarely centred in big-budget releases.
We’re also still dealing with the shadows cast by GamerGate and the related right-wing harassment campaigns of the mid-2010s, where fascists sought to drive women, people of colour, and queer and trans people out of the industry.
But they didn’t succeed; gaming is a richer place than ever for queer people, and queer games have massively exploded in the past 5-10 years.
Some of the most brilliant works of contemporary gay art and narrative can be found on Steam or itch.io, as can a lot of hours of good, silly, sexy gay entertainment.