During GDC Festival of Gaming 2026, representatives from GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) gave a talk on the growing efforts and trends around games that feature LGBTQ characters and storylines. The panel, led by GLAAD Gaming’s associate director Blair Durkee and program consultant Sabrina Mah, looked at the pitfalls games can fall into when trying to tell authentic LGBTQ+ stories, and the value in delivering great games that just happen to feature the communities in a compelling way.
“There’s really no shortage of ways you can make your game feel inclusive, you just have to have the willpower to do it,” said Blair Durkee. “A good place to start is just ask yourself, ‘Do our LGBTQ players feel seen and valued?’ And if you don’t have a good answer for that, you might have some work to do.”
The data shows major player interest in LGBT content
The centerpiece of the panel was The GLAAD Gaming Report, a data-focused analysis of video games and audiences over recent years, with a focus on the LGBTQ community. Released in 2024, this report offered a detailed, data-driven breakdown of the impact of LGBTQ representation on purchases and play styles, what LGBTQ audiences want to see, and the overall positive impact that games can have on LGBTQ players. According to the report, 17 percent of the gaming audience identified as LGBTQ, and Gen Z audiences are growing.
The report highlighted that LGBTQ players value different types of representation in games, particularly in supporting characters and in choice-driven narratives that allow decisions to impact character identity. According to both Durkee and Mah, this presents a compelling opportunity for developers to leverage representation in ways that appeal to LGBTQ audiences. In their report, they found that adding LGBTQ characters or options for player choice in character identity can increase potential sales from LGBTQ players, an already growing group.
During the panel, Mah highlighted that, generally speaking, non-LGBTQ players aren’t bothered by the inclusion of LGBTQ content in games. According to Mah, this “busts the myth” that queer content will alienate most other players.
“Why not try to capture the entire 17 percent now? But I also wanted to make sure we bust a common myth before moving on, that myth being that queer representation only detracts from non LGBTQ players,” said Mah. “Actually, 62 to 70 percent of non-queer gamers say that queer representation would not make a difference in their decision, and nine to 14 percent would be more likely to buy or play a game with LGBTQ representation.”
“Now I do want to note we do have those who said they’d be less likely to buy—however, our research found that the majority of detractors are generally older, spend less money, and spend less time on games,” Mah continued. “[Supporters of LGBTQ representation] are younger, they spend more money, and they spend more time in games over time, and we expect this pattern of younger audience growth acceptance to continue.”
“Authenticity Can’t Be Faked”
While the data shows that audiences are generally accepting of LGBTQ narratives, the two panel leads also emphasized that the creative process—how developers portray LGBTQ characters and stories within games—remains critical to audience acceptance. Durkee explained that while telling LGBTQ stories is always worthwhile, “good intentions” from developers are not enough.
“[Audiences] want good games to play overall, and they shouldn’t have to sacrifice one to get the other,” said Durkee, explaining how some games have fallen short. “For better or worse, when your game has LGBTQ content, we know that it will be housed at a higher level of scrutiny, and if the game overall doesn’t resonate with players, there will be bad actors out there ready to scapegoat the LGBTQ content as the reason.”
Not only do queer stories carry cultural and emotional nuances that need to be considered, not telling these stories well can also risk alienating the communities creatives want to connect with.
As well as working with outside consultants, Durkee and Mah stated that leaning on developers with lived experiences is a necessary part of the process. As they stated during the panel, “Authenticity is more than a setting on a dial for how prominent the inclusive content is.”
In addition to advising developers to avoid “tokenizing” characters just to “check the box” on representation, the panelists suggested developers see the world their LGBTQ characters are building and how they would navigate it. Durkee listed some examples of solid representation, including trans characters in Far Cry 6 and The Elder Scrolls Online, the latter of which would also go on to win GLAAD’s first award for outstanding video game.
Closing out the panel, both Durkee and Mah stated that authentic representation can only happen if developers have the determination to make it happen.
“The best approach to ensure that your game is received well by your entire audience is to treat inclusion and authenticity as a core pillar of the development process,” said Durkee. “If you treat it as something tacked on, players will perceive it as something tacked on, and that will not get a good response. But if it’s thoughtfully integrated into every part of your process, players will reward you for it, and as a bonus, they might even change the world for the better.”
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