In many circles, gaming was traditionally assumed to be a male domain, with the early days of computer play dominated by images of men playing violent shoot-em-ups and sports games. In recent decades, however, there has been a noticeable shift in gaming demographics as more and more female players take up a controller. This change has also been reflected in the number of female gamer celebrities, such as Ailey and Valkyrae, who have blazed a path for others and inspired a host of imitators too.
Changing times
Today, the stats show that the idea of gaming being a solely male pursuit is pure fantasy. In the UK, the ‘gender gap’ in gaming has been closing for some time and, as of June 2024, women made up approximately 47% of the audience.
Female participation numbers have also grown while smartphone gaming has been on the rise and, interestingly, more women use their phone for gaming than men, according to data gathered by Ofcom.Unsurprisingly, there has also been a notable change in the range of games offered by the top studios, with a great focus on games that might hold more appeal to both sexes. Big hits in recent years among women include Overwatch and Valorant, while The Sims remains a classic that has historically attracted both male and female players. But not only that, because nowadays women are becoming more and more passionate about the iGaming sector.
Gaming sites and developers have been making a concerted effort to release games in more easily consumable formats as well as offering rewards such as discounts and bonuses – for instance, Bet365 offers 100 free spins for new players. Generally, many more games can now be enjoyed without having to sink hundreds of hours into them.
Tweaking games
Naturally, there are plenty of girls and women who love playing games such as Grand Theft Auto and FIFA that some might have assumed are designed more for men. However, it also helps that an increasing number of today’s games feature female protagonists. While classic games such as Lara Croft were built on female characters, characters such as Commander Shepard in Mass Effect and Chell in Portal have also become iconic.
Then, of course, there is the Zelda series, where we have finally seen a version of the game where Princess Zelda herself takes the starring role and is tasked with saving the warrior Link. Reassuringly, The Legend of Zelda: The Echoes of Wisdom has been met with rave reviews from both female and male gamers, who have been thoroughly enjoying this classic case of role reversal.
Stars in the making
Female gamers in the public eye have also proven to be hugely popular among men and women alike. Valkyrae, for example, has built a huge following on YouTube with her gaming streams, also becoming a co-owner of the gaming organization 100 Thieves in the process. The Russian gamer, Alyona Bordukova, aka Ailey, has racked up millions of dollars in earnings in her career as a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player, becoming by some measures one of the wealthiest gamers in the entire world. Fortnite player FemSteph is another YouTube legend, while the accomplished Tiffany Garcia now has close to 7 million subscribers on her channel.
With such high visibility and participation, there is no question that the discussion around gaming has also shifted. Slowly but surely, gaming is becoming a more inclusive space, where people from all walks of life are not only tolerated but welcomed with open arms. There is more work to go, of course but the general direction is clear: gaming is moving towards a more open arena where anyone can join in and have a great time — and that can only be a good thing!