LGBTQ+ Representation In Games, Organisations and Support for Pride Month

Posted: 14 Jun 2021

Happy Pride Month everyone!

We’re proud to spotlight a variety of different things for Pride month, including games with LGBTQ+ representation, organisations and charities doing brilliant work for the LGBTQ+ community, specific resources and helplines.

Support

We have a list of LGBTQ+ specific resources available at our Find Help page, or at our information page.

Albert Kennedy Trust – The Albert Kennedy Trust supports LGBTQ+ young people aged 16-25 in the UK who are homeless or living in a hostile environment.

LGBT Foundation – The LGBT Foundation provides advice, support and information for LGBT people via their helpline.

London Friend – A support group for LGBT mental health and wellbeing. They offer specific trans and intersex support.

MindOut – A LGBTQ+ dedicated mental health service. Phone – 01273 234839

TransUnite – TransUnite is a great resource which can help you find your nearest trans support group.

Stonewall – Service Stonewall is a leading LGBTQ+ charity which provides a helpline for any LGBTQ+ person seeking support. Phone – 0300 330 0630 – 10:00am – 10:00pm

Trevor Project – A charity providing dedicated support to LGBTQ+ under 25’s. Phone – 1-866-488-7386 – 24/7/365

Organisations, Groups and Charities

Out Making Games – Out Making Games (OMG) are here to connect and empower the LGBTQ+ community working in the games industry across the UK, by addressing and overcoming the barriers that exist for LGBTQ+ professionals in the industry, both by transforming policies and institutions, and by changing hearts and minds through education. OMG are a partner and friend of Safe In Our World, and we’re delighted to support each other.

Gayming Magazine – The Gayming Magazine is a global magazine for the LGBTQ+ video games community, with games features, news, reviews and events including Digi Pride 2021!

Ukie’s Raise The Game Pledge – #RaiseTheGame is designed to inspire meaningful, cultural and behavioural change in all games businesses, companies and organisations – whatever your size and wherever you are in your journey. We’re proud to work alongside Ukie and be a partner of this pledge.

Trans Lifeline – Trans Lifeline provides trans peer support for our community that’s been divested from police since day one. Run by and for trans people.

Peer2PeerLive – Peer2Peer.Live is an opt-in discoverability tool for marginalized streamers and viewers to find each other through robust identity-based tagging.

Represent Me – A not-for-profit helping marginalised communities through resources, training, and support. Represent Me also has a huge database detailing representation in games here where you are able to search by keywords for to find games based on multiple LGBTQ+ representation options.

LGBTQ+ Representation in Games

As part of Pride Month, we wanted to collate a wonderful list of games, stories, themes and characters that are representative of the LGBTQ+ community.

If you’re looking for a new game to play, it could be in the list below. Having characters to connect to, resonate with or be able to shape to be any identity is incredibly important. Below, we have collated different examples of existing LGBTQ+ representation across a variety of genres of games, and we’d love to hear your favourites too.

Whilst there are a number of games that feature LGBTQ+ NPCs and protagonists, such as Borderlands, Persona, Overwatch and Valkeryie Chronicles (and lots more), we wanted to highlight a handful below!

If you’re looking for a specific representation and role that they play, Represent.Me as mentioned above is a fantastic place to start!

Coming Out Simulator

Coming Out Simulator 2014 is an interactive fiction video game made by Canadian developer Nicky Case. The semi-autobiographical game was released on 1 July 2014 as a submission for the Nar8 Game Jam. Inspired by real-life events, Coming Out Simulator 2014 is intended to help LGBT youth to understand their sexuality.

Joe Donnelly discussed Nicky Case’s other games which all deliver powerful messages.

The Last Of Us 1 and 2

The Last Of Us features Ellie’s love life which delves deep into her relationship with Dina. Lev identifies as Trans, and Bill and Frank in the first game were in a gay relationship.

Life Is Strange 1 and 2

Max identifies as bisexual, with the game featuring other characters within LGBTQ+ as-well.

Mass Effect

Mass Effect lets you romance any of the genders and also has LGBTQ+ characters.

Dragon Age 1, 2 and Inquisition

Dragon Age lets you romance any of the genders. It also features LBGTQ Characters.

Ace Attorney

Jean Armstrong from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations is revealed to be a gay cis man who likes to perform non-passing drag.

Baldurs Gate 1, 2 and expansions

Dorn II-Khan is Bisexual, Mishena is a Trans Woman.

Destiny

Osiris Saint-14 is gay, the game designer Robert Brooke wrote the two characters as a couple. Despite it being initially vague, in Destiny 2 there was a lot more detail released about their relationship.

Divinity Original Sin

Ifan Ben-Mezd, Red Prince, Lohse, Fane, Beast, Sebille and Butter present as Pansexual/Bisexual.

Fable 1, 2 and 3

Fable lets you marry, or get in a relationship with NPC townspeople of the same sex.

Fallout Series

LGBTQ characters with advantages to choosing same sex relationships in New Vegas and other titles within the franchise.

Final Fantasy Series