List of video games with LGBT characters
The following is a list of confirmed video games with gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender characters, including any others falling under the LGBT umbrella term. The numbers in this list are possibly higher due to fact that some characters remained unconfirmed, unsourced or controversial.
History
During the 1980s, characters that can be argued as identifying as LGBTQ+ were rarely shown in a realistic or non-stereotypical context and were often the objects of ridicule or jokes.[1]
In the 1990s, games (often Japanese ones) continued to use stereotypical LGBT characters which did not reflect the diversity in LGBT communities. However, more efforts were found to make more diverse and less one-dimensional characters.[2]
In 2018, Gamesradar's Sam Greer pored through thousands of gaming titles and found 179 games with any LGBT representation.[3] Of those 179 games, only 83 have queer characters who are playable characters. And of those, only eight feature a main character who is explicitly pre-written as queer as opposed to them being queer as a character creation option.
1980s
Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Le crime du parking | Paco | Gay | The culprit in the murder mystery is revealed to be the tailor, Paco, who is gay and deals drugs.[4] |
1985 | Le mur de Berlin va sauter | Carlus | Gay | The main antagonist and left-wing terrorist Carlos, who wants to blow up the Berlin Wall, is gay and a lot of the action is spent in gay nightclubs and public baths.[5] |
1986 | Moonmist | Vivien Pentreath | Lesbian | In one of the possible storylines it is revealed that Vivien, a friend of Lord Jack, was in a relationship with his former fiancée Deirdre—before her apparent suicide—and was jealous that she chose Lord Jack over her.[6][7] |
Deirdre Hallam | Bisexual woman | |||
1988 | Caper in the Castro | Tracker McDyke | Lesbian | A murder mystery problem solving game for Apple Mac computers written in the HyperCard language, distributed on underground gay bulletin boards, starring the lesbian detective Tracker McDyke. C. M. Ralph, who wrote the game, later released a straightwashed version called "Murder on Main Street" and published by Heizer Software.[8][9] |
Tessy LaFemme | Gay/Drag Queen | |||
1989 | Circuit's Edge | Yasmin | Trans woman | The game features a transgender woman named Yasmin alleged to be the player character's former lover, and a gay man named Saied.[10][11] |
Saied | Gay | |||
1989 | Phantasy Star II | Usvestia | Gay | Usvestia will teach the MUSIK piano technique needed to progress in the game more cheaply to male characters because they "look cute".[12] In the English version, he instead says "He looks smart," and the gender-based disparity is left unexplained.[13] |
1989 | Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals | Kalalau | Bisexual | Kalalau, a character from the previous game, is married to Larry, but dumps him at the start of the game for another woman, Bobbi.[14][15] |
Bobbi | Lesbian | Bobbi is a woman in a relationship with Kalalau. She is described within the game as a lesbian.[14][15] |
1990s
Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | Rise of the Dragon | Patrons of the Pleasure Dome | Queer | In an establishment called the Pleasure Dome that caters to queer patrons, among other things. One of its patrons is a woman posing as a man posing as a woman.[7] |
1992 | The Dagger of Amon Ra | Two female lovers | Lesbian | This game features a woman from a small town who gets a job for a New York paper in the 1920s. Two of the women she meets are involved in a secret love affair.[7] |
1992 | Ultima VII: The Black Gate | Sex workers | Bisexual | In the House of Baths at Buccaneer's Den, the player (the "Avatar") can pay for the services of male and female sex workers, regardless of the player's gender.[16] |
1992 | Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender | Rex Nebular | Genderqueer | The game requires the male hero to change his sex on a planet where women rule.[17] |
1993 | Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle | A mage | Bisexual | A mage sexually proposes the player's character regardless of the character's gender.[7] The player is given the choice to accept or decline. |
1993 | Dracula Unleashed | Alfred Horner | Gay | Alfred Horner is a gay man who co-owns a bookstore. This was the first time a gay character in a computer game was given a speaking role.[7] |
1993 | Return of the Phantom | Charles | Gay | Charles is portrayed as an effeminate theater director. He is one of the good guys that helps the playable character, a French inspector, solve the mystery of the Phantom of the Opera once and for all.[18] |
1993 | Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out! | Gary | Gay | Gary is a gay towel attendant. Larry is given the option of flirting with him, although this leads to a game over.[14] |
1993 | Police Quest: Open Season | Bob Hickman | Gay | A gay bar is featured in the game. The player is a police officer trying to track down the murderer of his partner. His quest leads him to discover that his partner had a double life as a cross-dresser at a West Hollywood transgender bar.[7] |
1994 | Streets of Rage 3 | Ash | Gay | Ash acts as a boss in the game and portrayed with "tight clothes and effeminate movements".[18] He was censored in some versions of the game.[19] |
1994 | EarthBound | Tony | Gay | Tony who has subtle attractions to his best friend Jeff, according to EarthBound creator, Shigesato Itoi.[20] |
1995 | Eternal Filena | Filen | Lesbian | Filena and Lila are lovers.[21][22] |
Lila | ||||
1995 | The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery | Baron Von Glower | Gay | The antagonist Baron Von Glower pursues the protagonist Gabriel Knight sexually and eventually leads him to be turned into a werewolf.[7][17] |
1995 | Chrono Trigger | Flea | Genderqueer | Flea, a major villain, is genderfluid and/or gender nonconforming.[7] Notably, Flea stated in a self-referential manner "Male or female, what difference does it make? Power is beautiful, and I've got the power."[17] |
1995 | The Orion Conspiracy | Danny McCormack and his boyfriend | Gay | This is the first computer game to use the word homosexual. The main character, Devlin McCormack, lives on a space station where he investigates the murder of his son Danny McCormack and stops an alien invasion. His investigation leads him through the seedy, criminal underworld of the station, where he discovers that his son was homosexual by talking with his son's boyfriend.[7] |
1995 | True Love | Daisuke | Bisexual | At the end of the game, the player character—default name is Daisuke—may attempt to start a relationship with any of the ten available girls, or with his best friend Kazuhiko as the only gay option. Depending on the choices taken and interactions experienced throughout the game, each girl and Kazuhiko may or may not be available for a relationship.[23] |
Kazuhiko Miyoshi | Gay | |||
1996 | Bahamut Lagoon | Sendak | Gay | Sendak is an older wizard who at one point flirts with the male protagonist, Byuu. The player can choose to accept or reject these advances.[24] |
1996 | Blazing Dragons | Sir Blaze | Gay | Sir Blaze, a dragon knight is implied to be gay similar to the cartoon.[2] |
Trivet | Trivet is a dragon jester who works for the king. He hates being a jester and is trying to look for another job. He learns about hypnotism. He hypnotizes Flicker into believing he is Princess Flame. The effect is temporary and Flicker goes back to normal. When Trivet tries to hypnotize Flicker again; Flicker deflects it onto Trivet by making him believe he is Flame. Trivet-as-Flame flirts with Sir Loungealot for a few scenes. When Sir Loungealot kisses Trivet; it snaps him out of his hypnosis. Sir Longealot realizes he wasn't kissing Flame but Trivet. However, Trivet happily thinks that Sir Loungealot would care about him in that way much to the dragon knight's repulsion.[2] | |||
1996 | Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh | Curtis Craig | Bisexual man | Curtis is the game's protagonist. He is also close friend with his co-worker, Trevor, who is gay. Curtis admits to his psychiatrist that he has feelings for Trevor and might be bisexual, and the two almost kiss later in the game. Curtis is also shown as having relations with his girlfriend and a S&M domme. Creators of the game talked about the mature sexual themes in the game during a 1997 interview.[25] Curtis is the first playable non-heterosexual character in a video game.[26] |
Trevor Barnes | Gay | |||
1996 | NiGHTS into Dreams | NiGHTS | Agender | According to Takashi Iizuka, NiGHTS doesn't have a gender and "[the] impressions of the character with regards to gender are totally up to the player".[27] |
1997 | The Last Express | Sophie de Bretheuil | Lesbian | This game has the player meeting two young adult girls named Sophie de Bretheuil and Rebecca Norton who are almost always in each other's company. While at first they appear to be merely close friends, reading the diary of Recbecca suggests they are lesbians, but there are no explicitly homosexual gestures beyond hand-holding.[28] |
Rebecca Norton | ||||
1997 | SaGa Frontier | Asellus | Lesbian | Infused with the Charm Lord's mystical blood, Asellus is attracted to other women and other women are attracted to her. Gina "calls Lady Asellus beautiful and blushes" at her during conversations, and they can marry each other in one of the game's multiple endings.[29] |
Gina | Lesbian or heteroflexible | |||
1997 | Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers | Beta | Gay | Beta is one of the owners of the EL-115 Club alongside his brother Alpha. Described as an "over-the-top caricature of an effeminate gay man who speaks with a lisp", Beta continually comments on the male player's attractiveness.[30] |
1998 | Star Ocean: The Second Story | Claude C. Kenny | Gay, lesbian or bisexual | The player can choose to play as either Claude or Rena. They can have a friendship and romance level with each party member acquired. Ashton (a male party member) and Precis (a female party member) can go on a date with them, regardless of their gender.[7] |
Rena Lanford | ||||
Ashton Anchors | ||||
Precis F. Neumann | ||||
1999 | The Longest Journey | Fiona and Mickey | Lesbian | This computer game features Fiona and Mickey, a lesbian landlady and her long-time lover. It also features a gay cop.[7] |
A cop | Gay |
2000s
Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | The Sims | Sims | Gay, lesbian or bisexual | All Sims can be directed to fall in love with and engage in romantic interations with others Sims of either sex.[31] |
2001 | RuneScape | Angof | Trans woman | Angof is a female character in "The Light Within", a quest released on August 24, 2015. At some point after the quest, the player can show her a wedding ring, prompting her to tell the player she was born male, but "corrected" herself to female once she could shapeshift.[32] |
2001 | Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix | Hana Tsu-Vachel | Bisexual woman | The player character Hana Tsu-Vachel is bisexual and in a relationship with her hacker; Rain Qin. The game's advertising heavily emphasized their relationship.[33] |
Rain Qin | Lesbian | |||
2001 | Shadow Hearts | Meiyuan | Gay | Meiyuan is a gay Chinese acupuncturist.[34] |
2002 | The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind | Vivec | Intersex | In the in-game books The 36 Lessons of Vivec, Vivec describes himself as "brother-sister"[35] and "of male and female, the magic hermaphrodite."[36] |
2003 | Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic | Juhani | Lesbian | The party member Juhani is lesbian, though bugged coding on the initial release allowed her to be attracted to the player character regardless of gender. In subsequent patches, she reverts to same-sex preferences.[37] She and Belaya, another female Jedi were also heavily implied to be lovers.[38] This would make Juhani the first known gay character in the Star Wars universe.[39] |
Belaya | ||||
2003 | Deus Ex: Invisible War | Mark Finley | Gay | One of the manners which the character can gain access to the apartment of Mark Finley, Seattle's Minister of Culture, is to flirt with him at Club Vox; he will give the character his key. This only works if the character is male.[40] |
Lionel | ||||
2004 | Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations | Jean Armstrong | Gay | Trials and Tribulations localization team director Janet Hsu, in looking through all information that is given about Jean in the game, came to the conclusion that he is a gay man who likes to perform non-passing drag. Looking back at the game in 2014, Hsu said that she still thought Jean caused confusion due to the general public having a less informed and nuanced understanding of gender and sexuality at the time of the game's release.[41] |
2004 | Fable | Player character and NPC townspeople | Gay or bisexual | The male protagonist can romance and marry various characters, regardless of gender. However, while a marriage between the protagonist and a woman is treated as a legitimate marriage, one with a male NPC is treated comically and the union is referred to as "just a couple of blokes being blokes".[42] |
2004 | The Sims 2 | Sims | Gay, lesbian or bisexual | Sims can romance and even marry other Sims of the same sex.[43] |
2004 | The Temple of Elemental Evil | Bertram | Gay | This computer game has an optional storyline permitting a gay marriage. In the town of Nulb, a pirate named Bertram begins flirting with male characters in the party and offers a lifetime of love and happiness in exchange for his freedom.[44] |
2004 | Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines | Player character | Lesbian or bisexual | The player can have sex with female prostitutes or Jeanette as either a man or a woman.[45] |
Jeanette Voerman | Bisexual woman | The female player character is able to have implied offscreen sexual relations with Jeanette, another female character.[45] | ||
2005 | Togainu no Chi | Akira | Gay | Depending on choices made throughout the story, the game's protagonist can enter a romantic relationship with many other men.[46][47] |
Keisuke | ||||
Rin | ||||
Shiki | ||||
Motomi | ||||
2005 | Jade Empire | Last Spirit Monk | Gay, lesbian or bisexual | The player—the Last Spirit Monk—can choose to play as either male or female. The player, regardless of gender, can romance Sky or Silk Fox. While only a male player can romance the Dawn Star, player can enter a ménage à trois with her and Silk Fox.[7] |
Sky | Bisexual man | |||
Silk Fox | Bisexual woman | |||
Dawn Star | ||||
2005 | Drakengard 2 | Yaha | Bisexual | Yaha is an enemy character who is in love with his old friend Urick, one of the playable characters.[48] |
2005 | Fahrenheit | Tommy | Gay | This computer and console game includes a gay stock market follower named Tommy. One of the game's protagonists is good friends with him and Tommy's knowledge of the stock trade is essential in progressing in the game. If asked, he mentions that he's dating someone.[49] |
2006 | Enchanted Arms | Makoto | Gay | Makoto is fervently in love with Toya and the game's promotional materials list him as openly gay.[50] |
2006 | Mother 3 | Magypsies | Genderqueer | They are a genderless race but their appearance and attitude are a parody of drag queens. Also, Ionia will teach Lucas "PK Love" in a scene that can be interpreted as sexual.[51] |
2006 | Baten Kaitos Origins | Guillo | Genderqueer | One of the three main characters, Guillo, speaks simultaneously with the voice of both a man and a woman.[52] |
2006 | Corpse Party: BloodCovered | Seiko Shinohara | Lesbian | Seiko is shown to have romantic feelings for her best friend, Naomi Nakashima.[53] |
2006 | Bully | James "Jimmy" Hopkins | Bisexual man | Jimmy is able to kiss both boys and girls.[54] In the Xbox version the player can unlock an achievement by kissing a boy twenty times.[55] |
2007 | BioShock | Sander Cohen | Gay | The insane artist Sander Cohen is confirmed to be gay by the game's creative director Ken Levine.[56] |
2007 | Clive Barker's Jericho | Cassus Vicus | Bisexual man | The Ancient Roman Governor Cassus Vicus claims it had been a while since "tasting" both genders after becoming aroused while confronting the Jericho Squad. Vicus is portrayed as overly perverted and morbidly obese and is said to practice cannibalism, sadomasochism and "blood orgies".[57] |
Abigail Black | Lesbian | Lt. Abigail Black, a telekinetic sniper and playable character, is confirmed to be lesbian.[58] | ||
2008 | Captain Rainbow | Birdo | Trans woman | Birdo's gender identity is explored in Captain Rainbow, which delves into her gender and how she was imprisoned for using the woman's bathroom. Birdo asks the player to find proof of her being female so she could be set free.[59] |
2008 | Mighty Jill Off | Jill | Lesbian | Jill and her Queen's relationship are the core drive of the game, with Jill's desire to return to her Queen acting as her primary motivation, and their BDSM practices providing context for the game's difficulty.[60]
The game's designer, Anna Anthropy confirmed The Queen is canonically trans on the game's itch.io page.[61] |
The Queen | Trans woman, lesbian | |||
2008 | Violet | Violet | Bisexual | The player is either a man or woman and Violet is their girlfriend.[62] The player is freely able to change their gender and sex mid-game, which mostly only results in a few cosmetic changes in the dialogue. Violet serves as the game's narrator, but in fact the player character is only imagining how she would narrate. Upon gender-changing, Violet may react by saying, "I adore you either way." |
2009 | League of Legends | Diana | Lesbian or bisexual | As part of the Pride 2021 event celebrating LGBT Pride Month, Riot Games released the short story "Rise With Me", focusing on the backstory of Diana and Leona. The short story details how the two women fell in love and were each other's first kiss.[63] |
Leona | ||||
Caitlyn | In the animated series Arcane (2021–present), which is set a few years before the events of the game, there are multiple hints that Vi and Caitlyn are attracted to each other.[64] This has since been reinforced, with Riot's 2023 LGBT Pride Month content specifically highlighting the pair, alongside a selection of other confirmed LGBT characters. In the event's promotional art, Vi is shown wearing a lesbian flag pin.[65] Riot game designer Alex Quach later confirmed all the characters featured were LGBTQIA+.[66] | |||
Vi | Lesbian | |||
Neeko | Lesbian | Neeko was revealed to be a lesbian by senior narrative writer Matt Dunn in 2018, making her the game's first Champion to be openly LGBTQ.[67] | ||
Rell | Bisexual or pansexual | Rell possesses in-game interactions where she expresses interest in both male and female characters.[68] | ||
Nami | Bisexual | In League of Legends spin-off game Legends of Runeterra, Nami's partners Tama (female) and Loto (male) are introduced, revealing her bisexuality and polyamory. Their relationship was later confirmed by the game's narrative lead, Meaghan Bowe.[69] | ||
Lee Sin | Gay | Udyr trained in Ionia with Lee Sin for a time before returning to his homeland of the Freljord. One of Udyr's alternate skins, however, portrays a timeline where Udyr remains in Ionia. The League of Legends development team confirmed this was because Udyr chose to stay with Lee Sin, his partner and "roommate" (a euphemism used to allude to queer couples).[70] Additionally, in voice lines, Udyr repeatedly describes Lee Sin alongside his previous partner, Kalkia. This is exemplified in the universe where he leaves Lee Sin, saying "Twice I have loved, twice I have left", a line excluded in the universe where he remains with Lee Sin.[71] | ||
Udyr | Bisexual | |||
Varus | Gay | Varus is a Darkin, a creature whose actual body is a weapon who can possess someone who attempts to wield it, and Varus himself isn't gay. However, when he attempted to possess the gay couple Valmar and Kai at the same time and fuse them together, the two hunters' love was strong enough to allow their conscience to be shared with the Darkin, with all three controlling the body. A music video titled "As We Fall" detailing this events was released in 2017.[72] | ||
Graves | Devon Giehl, former creative designer and writer at Riot Games, revealed in 2018 that she had initially planned for Graves and Twisted Fate to have been in a relationship,[73] but the team was prevented from doing so.[74] Despite this, many former and present employees have described them as a couple.[75] Furthermore, despite internal censorship and pushback, the 2021 "Sentinels of Light" event did allude to Graves' relationship with Twisted Fate.[76] Prior to the beginning of the event, it was revealed that for Pride 2022 various icons, emotes, and cosmetics would be released. Some of these icons confirm that the relationship between Twisted Fate and Graves is romantic in nature.[77] During the event a story further highlighting their relationship was released.[78] In League of Legends' 2023 Pride Month promotional art Twisted Fate wears the pansexual flag's colors in his hat. | |||
Twisted Fate | Pansexual | |||
K'Sante | Gay | In October 2022, it was confirmed that K'Sante was LGBTQ+ by his voice actor, DeObai Oparei. In his backstory, he has an ex named Tope.[79][80] |
2010s
2020s
Video game series
A–D
Series | Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A Kiss for the Petals | 2006–2016 | All | Various girls, teachers and nurses | Lesbian | A series of adult yuri visual novels.[81] |
Assassin's Creed | 2007 | Assassin's Creed | Abu'l Nuquod | Gay | Abu'l Nuquod, one of the assassination targets in this historically based game, is strongly implied to be gay.[82] He believes that the people hate him because he is different, is shown caressing the cheek of one of his male guards during his angry tirade and claims that he cannot serve the cause of a God who calls him an abomination.[11] |
2009 | Assassin's Creed II | Leonardo da Vinci | Gay | Lifelong friend of protagonist Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Leonardo da Vinci is implied to be gay, based on similar historical evidence. On one occasion, he assures Ezio that "women provide little distraction."[11] | |
2010 | Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood | Leonardo da Vinci | Gay | In the downloadable content The Da Vinci Disappearance, Ezio appears to know of Leonardo's romantic relationship with his pupil Salaì, stating that he approves of their relationship. | |
Salaì | |||||
2015 | Assassin's Creed Syndicate | Jacob Frye | Bisexual | The lead writer of the game indicated that the team explicitly avoided giving Jacob, one of the game's two protagonists, a female love interest. He also hinted that Jacob needed to "figure himself out to some degree" after his brief partnership with Maxwell Roth. This led to speculation regarding Jacob's sexuality, with the official Assassin's Creed Tumblr account confirming he is canonically bisexual.[83] | |
Ned Wynert | Trans man | Ned Wynert is a minor non-playable character (NPC) and a trans man.[84] | |||
2018 | Assassin's Creed Odyssey | Alexios or Kassandra | Bisexual | The player can play as either Alexios or his sister Kassandra. Throughout the game, the player can interact with many men and women romantically. This will not change or have limits based on the character picked, meaning either sibling can have romantic and sexual relationships with a person of the same and/or opposite gender throughout the game.[85] | |
BlazBlue | 2009 | First appearance: BlazBlue: Continuum Shift | Makoto Nanaya | Bisexual | Makoto is openly bisexual and is attracted to both male and female playable characters in the series. |
Borderlands | 2009 | Borderlands | Mad Moxxi | Bisexual or pansexual | Mad Moxxi's appearances include Borderlands (2009) and Borderlands 2 (2012). She is a buxom bartender. In both games, she is very open about her sexual fluidity, referencing her many male and female lovers. |
2012 | Borderlands 2 | ||||
Tiny Tina | Lesbian | Tiny Tina confesses that she likes Maya and asks if she likes her in turn. It was confirmed by lead writer Anthony Burch on his ask.fm that she is lesbian and also that during production of the DLC Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage (2012), it was planned to depict Tiny Tina having a crush on Moxxi, but the dialogue concerning this was ultimately deleted before the DLC was released. | |||
Axton | Bisexual | In the DLC Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep (2013), it is revealed that Axton, one of the playable characters, is bisexual. While his flirtatious lines with male characters were originally a coding error, Gearbox Studios decided to confirm his bisexuality with overt references in the DLC.[86] | |||
Wildlife Exploitation Preserve couples | Lesbian, gay | There is an audio-log in the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve that mentions two same sex couples (1 gay couple, 1 lesbian couple) who were forced to run experiments on their partners. | |||
Sir Hammerlock and Taggart | Gay | There is a sidequest given by Sir Hammerlock that involves finding his ex-boyfriend Taggart's audio logs on hunting for use in his almanac. | |||
Mister Torgue High-Five Flexington | Bisexual | It is alluded in Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep that Mr. Torgue is bisexual. This was confirmed via an interview.[87] | |||
2014 | Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel | Rose and Gabby | Lesbian | During the Recruitment Drive mission in the Triton area, a character named Rose talks about her ex Gabby. | |
Athena and Janey Springs | Lesbian | In Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (2014) the playable character Athena and the supporting character Janey Springs are lesbian.[88] Janey repeatedly flirts with Athena, causing her to become embarrassed. Their relationship is confirmed later in a conversation where Athena implies that she "hit that" (referring to Janey) by giving a high five to Tiny Tina, even though Athena is initially defensive to talk about it. In the DLC Claptastic Voyage (2015), it is shown that Athena and Janey moved together to Hollow Point, a subterranean city on Pandora.
In the episodic adventure game Tales from the Borderlands (2014), Athena and Janey are in a relationship. Depending on the player's choices, a scene may be available where Janey kisses Athena on the cheek and refers to her as her girlfriend. Later in the game, there is an unmissable scene where Athena is interrupted by a call from Janey, once again referring to her as her girlfriend. | |||
2014 | Tales from the Borderlands | ||||
2019 | Borderlands 3 | FL4K | Non-binary | FL4K is shown to use gender-neutral pronouns, and has a pin on the collar of their coat that had the number 2 in binary crossed out as well as the non-binary flag colors, referencing their gender identity.[89] | |
Wainwright Jakobs | Gay | The DLC pack Guns, Love, and Tentacles is about the marriage of Sir Hammerlock and Wainwright Jakobs.[90] | |||
Danganronpa | 2010 | Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc | Mukuro Ikusaba | Bisexual | In Danganronpa Zero and Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, Mukuro is confirmed to have incestuous feelings towards her twin sister Junko Enoshima. She is also shown to have romantic feelings for Makoto Naegi during the events of Danganronpa IF, confirming that she's bisexual. |
2012 | Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair | Nagito Komaeda / Servant | Gay or bisexual | During the last of Nagito Komaeda's free time events, he attempts to confess his love to Hajime Hinata/Izuru Kamukura, but ends up changing his wording at the last minute.[91] It was later confirmed that he had feelings for an ambiguous "him" in his character song "Poison -Gekiyaku-", which the character's voice actor, who provided vocals for the song, characterized as "sexual". Also, in Danganronpa Another Episode, he reveals to Monaca that he both loves and hates Junko Enoshima more than anyone else, though it could possibly be argued that he along with the other Remnants of Despair were brainwashed into loving her as seen in the Danganronpa 3 anime. However, in the second game he makes an offhand comment about Akane Owari's "sexy body".[92] | |
Teruteru Hanamura | Bisexual | Teruteru makes several suggestive comments about the bodies of both his male and female classmates and his interest in them, stating that "[m]y tastes are pretty open." During the last of his free time events with Hajime Hinata, he questions whether Hajime has "awakened" yet before attempting to drug him.[93] | |||
Mikan Tsumiki | Mikan Tsumiki refers to an unspecified person as her "beloved", later revealed to be Junko Enoshima. However, her loving Junko could be because of brainwashing like all of The Remnants of Despair as seen in the Danganronopa 3 anime.The opening sequence depicts her with both male and female symbols in hearts around her. | ||||
2017 | Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony | Shuichi Saihara | Bisexual | During his Love Suite events, Shuichi explicitly engages in romantic and sexual scenarios with both male and female partners. During his Free Time Events with Kaito Momota, Shuichi states that "only someone like him could tell me what I need to hear" before becoming flustered over having romantic thoughts about him.[94] | |
Tenko Chabashira | Lesbian | In the character's official English profile, it is stated that compliments from women will "make her heart aflutter", whereas the same compliments from men will result in them "getting thrown across the room".[95] | |||
Kokichi Oma | Gay or bisexual | Kokichi expresses apparent romantic interest towards several other male characters during the game, particularly Shuichi, whom he refers to as his "beloved", claiming his objective during their Free Time events was to "steal [his] heart".[96] During the pair's Love Suite event, Kokichi further confirms his attraction to Shuichi, as, unlike the ideal partners of the other characters, Shuichi himself plays the role of Kokichi's ideal partner.[97] | |||
Darkstalkers, Marvel vs. Capcom, and others |
1994 | First appearance: Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors See also Morrigan Aensland § Appearances. |
Morrigan Aensland | Bisexual | Morrigan is bisexual. She is a recurring character in the Darkstalkers and Marvel vs. Capcom fighting game series. |
Dishonored | 2016 | Dishonored 2 | Aramis Stilton | Gay | Aramis Stilton is a possible ally in Dishonored 2. His relationship with the previous Duke of Serkonas, Theodanis, is referenced throughout the game as being particularly close, and he was confirmed to be "openly gay" by director Harvey Smith on stream; with Theodanis being described as "his one true love".[98] |
Mindy Blanchard | Transgender woman | Mindy is a recurring character in Dishonored 2 who can act as either an ally or antagonist to the player depending on their actions. A number of interactions in game hint at her being transgender, with the game's director, Harvey Smith, later confirming it on stream after players picked up on the clues.[98] | |||
2017 | Dishonored: Death of the Outsider | Billie Lurk/ Meagan Foster | Bisexual | Billie first appears in the DLC for the original Dishonored before appearing as Meagan in the sequel, and finally being the player character in Death of the Outsider. In her second appearance, as 'Meagan Foster' she reveals through some of her audio logs, that she is bisexual, heard stating she has "loved many women, and even a couple of men".[99] |
F–J
Series | Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fallout | 1998 | Fallout 2 | Player character | Lesbian, gay, or bisexual | The player character can be either male or female. Miria and Davin are siblings that the player may have sex with and marry one of them, regardless of their gender.[100] The ability to marry either Miria or Davin irrespective of the player's gender marks Fallout 2 as the first game to feature a same-sex marriage.[101][102] The player character can also have sex with Leslie Anne Bishop regardless of gender. |
Miria | Bisexual woman | ||||
Davin | Bisexual man | ||||
Leslie Anne Bishop | Bisexual woman | ||||
2010 | Fallout: New Vegas | Courier | Straight, gay, lesbian, or bisexual (optional) | The main character, the unnamed Courier, can be chosen as male, with the perk (character trait) Confirmed Bachelor, giving him several advantages with other gay male NPCs (and, following the stereotype of gay people as more understanding and perceptive about emotions, grant him the ability to better understand the plight of the otherwise mute companion Christine). This perk has a female equivalent, the Cherchez la femme perk.. Additionally, the male Courier can pick both Lady Killer (the "straight" perk) and Confirmed Bachelor, making them optionally bisexual, as with the female Courier with Black Widow and Cherchez la femme. | |
Veronica Santangelo | Lesbian | Veronica Santangelo is a young Scribe from the Brotherhood of Steel, who confesses to the main character to have nursed a crush for another girl in the Brotherhood (hinted to be Christine Royce, another joinable NPC, mute and enslaved, who references having been in a relationship with a girl in her Brotherhood days) which ended badly because of the disapproval of her girlfriend's parents. | |||
Arcade Gannon | Gay | Arcade Gannon, a doctor with the Followers of the Apocalypse is openly gay, discussing his orientation if certain dialog paths are chosen. | |||
Rose of Sharon Cassidy | Bisexual | If the player plays as a female Courier with the Cherchez la Femme perk, Rose of Sharon will simply state that when she's drunk enough she doesn't care about who she gets in bed with, and drops the dialog abruptly. | |||
Corporal Betsy | Lesbian | Another NPC, Corporal Betsy, a sharpshooter for the NCR, is openly gay and will flirt with a female Courier that has high enough charisma. With the Cherchez la Femme perk the Courier can acknowledge her advances, however ultimately nothing comes out of the conversation. | |||
2015 | Fallout 4 | Sole Survivor | Bisexual (optional) | The player character, "Sole Survivor", starts off in a relationship with a wife (if the player chooses to be male) or a husband (if the player chooses to be female). Showing the primary character is at least straight, however, the "Sole Survivor" can romance their companions, regardless of their sex.[103] | |
Final Fantasy | 2000 | Final Fantasy IX | Quina Quen | Agender or genderqueer or nonbinary | Quina Quen is a non-human playable character.[104] Quina is referred to with non-gendered terms in the Japanese version. In the English version, Quina is referred to using the pronouns "his" and "him," but also by "s/he".[105] During gameplay, Quina cannot equip woman-only items, and is not affected by Zidane's "Protect Girls" ability.[104] |
2020 | Final Fantasy VII Remake | Andrea Rhodea | Queer | Andrea Rhodea, the owner of the Honeybee Inn in Midgar's red light district, is presented as a character who does not conform to gender norms.[106] | |
2023 | Final Fantasy XVI | Dion Lesage | Gay | Dion Lesage is the leader of the Holy Order of The Knights Dragoon, and his lover is his second-in-command Sir Terrance.[107] | |
Sir Terrance | |||||
Unnamed soldier and his lover | An unnamed male non-player character is in a romantic relationship with another man.[107] | ||||
Final Fight and Street Fighter | 1989 | Final Fight | Poison | Trans woman | Poison is introduced in Final Fight (1989), where she is either a pre-op or post-op trans woman, depending on the region where the game was released.[108][109][110][111]
She is an antagonistic NPC in the arcade beat 'em up games Final Fight (1989) and Mighty Final Fight (1993). She is a playable character in the fighting games Final Fight Revenge (1999), Street Fighter X Tekken (2012), Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014) & Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition (2018). In Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, her identity is alluded to more often. Certain dialogue during a conversation with Lucia alludes to the fact that she was born with a gender not matching with her inner being. One of Poison's win quotes, "Being gossiped about is proof of my popularity!" seemingly alludes to the controversy and ambiguity surrounding her gender identity.[112][113][114][115] |
1993 | Mighty Final Fight | ||||
1999 | Final Fight Revenge | ||||
2012 | Street Fighter X Tekken | ||||
2014 | Ultra Street Fighter IV | ||||
2018 | Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition | ||||
2023 | Street Fighter 6 | Marisa | Bisexual | Marisa is the first openly bisexual and polyamorous playable character in the series.[116] | |
Eternity | Non-binary | Eternity is the emcee of Battle Hub mode, and not a playable character.[117] | |||
Fire Emblem | 2003 | Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade | Limstella | Non-binary | Within the game, Limstella is never described with male or female pronouns. When their card in the Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher) trading card game released, it lacked the symbol that denotes whether a character is male or female (the only card to do this). In the Fire Emblem Heroes mobile game (and the video revealing them being added to the game), they use they/them pronouns. Despite this, however, they are placed within the women's division during the Choose Your Legends voting ballots, likely due to their feminine appearance. |
2007 | Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn | Heather | Lesbian | Heather is a character that the player can get on their team. She is implied to be a lesbian and claims to have joined the army to "meet cute girls".[118] | |
2016 | Fire Emblem Fates | Soleil | Lesbian or bisexual or sexually fluid | Soleil is romantically interested in women, and gets so nervous and weak-kneed around women she finds attractive that she comes off as strange to them or falls over. She talks to the (male) protagonist about wanting to overcome her fearfulness, and the protagonist spikes her drink with a substance that makes her see men as women and vice versa to try and give her a chance to practice interacting with women. She falls in love with the protagonist while under the influence of the substance, and remains in love with him as a man after the effect wears off.[119]
This plot was considered controversial, with some comparing it to gay conversion therapy.[119][120] In response, Nintendo removed parts of it from the North American and European versions of the game.[120] | |
Niles | Bisexual | A character available on the Conquest and Revelation routes, he is the only male character that the player can S-Rank (a rank that enters the two characters into a romantic relationship) if their avatar character (whose default name is Corrin) is also male.[121] | |||
Rhajat | Bisexual | Available only if Hayato marries someone on the Birthright or Revelation routes, she is the only same-sex romantic option the female player avatar has. She is based on a character introduced in Fire Emblem Awakening called Tharja who also expressed romantic interest in the player avatar of that game, but the avatar could only ever romance her as a male.[121] | |||
Player avatar (named Corrin by default) | Bisexual | The player avatar of the game, they can romance Niles and Rhajat (who are bisexual characters) regardless of the gender the player assigns them. | |||
2017 | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia | Leon | Gay | Leon asks Kamui if he wants to be hit on by Leon. Leon then states that Kamui is not his type and confesses his love to another male comrade, Valbar.[121] He also describes his past lover as a man. | |
2019 | Fire Emblem: Three Houses | Byleth Eisner | Bisexual | Byleth, the player character of the game, can be male or female. Only some of Byleth's romance options are same-gender. The women that female Byleth can marry are Edelgard, Dorothea, Mercedes, Rhea, and Sothis. The men that male Byleth can marry are Lindhardt, Jeritza, and Yuri.[122] | |
Edelgard von Hresvelg | |||||
Mercedes von Martrtiz | |||||
Rhea (also known as Seiros) | |||||
Sothis | |||||
Linhardt von Hevring | |||||
Dorothea Arnault | In addition to being able to marry Byleth regardless of gender, she also mentions in conversation that she'd love to have either a husband or wife.[123] | ||||
Jeritza von Hrym (born as Emile von Bartels) | Only able to be recruited on the Crimson Flower route. While he was present in the game at launch, he was unable to be recruited until the game's Version 1.1.0 update. He can marry the avatar regardless of their gender.[124] | ||||
Yuri Leclerc | Leader of the Ashen Wolves house, and only available if the Cindered Shadows DLC has been purchased. He can marry the avatar regardless of their gender.[125] | ||||
Grand Theft Auto | 2005 | Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories | Reni Wassulmaier | Genderqueer | Reni Wassulmaier is an adult film director. She is assigned female at birth. She undergoes four sex surgeries: female-to-male, then male-to-female, then female-to-male again, then male-to-female again. She is introduced in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005), as a female radio DJ. In between songs, she drops hints about previously being male.[126] |
2006 | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories | In the prequel Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006), set 14 years before, she already had the first three sex changes and the objective for one mission, titled "So Long Schlong", is to take Reni to the hospital for her fourth sex change.[126] | |||
2013 | Grand Theft Auto V | Trevor Philips | Bisexual | Trevor Philips is a playable character in Grand Theft Auto V, unlocked after the mission Mr. Philips. In a conversation during an outing with Michael and Franklin, he admits he's bisexual after Franklin asked him whether he's gay or not. He also claims to have raped men in prison. | |
Heileen | 2012 | Heileen 3: New Horizons | Marie, Lora, Ebele and Juliet | Lesbian | There are four male romantic possibilities: John from Heileen: Sail Away (2008), Morgan, Jonathan and Sebastian; and four female: Marie and Lora from Heileen: Sail Away (2008), Ebele and Juliet from Heileen: Sail Away (2008). |
K–N
Series | Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The King of Fighters | 1994 | First appearance: The King of Fighters '94 | Mature | Bisexual | Mature, one of the series' recurring characters, is confirmed to be bisexual.[127] |
The Longest Journey | 2014 | Dreamfall Chapters | Kian Alvane | Gay | Kian Alvane, one of the main protagonists, is gay.[128] |
Likho | Gay | Likho, a Resistance member, can reveal to Kian that he too is gay but would be ostracized if his family ever found out, if "an intimate moment" between them is unlocked. | |||
Hanna and Abby | Lesbian | Hanna and Abby are a lesbian couple. | |||
Mario | 1985 | Super Mario Bros. | Toad | Agender | In a 2014 interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, he revealed that Toads were designed without a specific gender in mind. Nintendo director Koichi Hayashida who produced Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, explained that the appearance of a Toad does not represent his gender, stating that it has never been decided what gender could be associated with any Toad.[129] He clarifies later that the gender of the Toads will remain a mystery.[130] |
1988 | Super Mario Bros. 2 | Birdo | Trans woman | In the first-edition manual for the North American release of the game, Birdo is referred to as a "male who believes that he is a female" and would rather be called "Birdetta", making her the first transgender character for Nintendo.[131][132] In the Japanese version, Birdo is referred as "Catherine" where it is also stated that the character is a man who wishes to be a woman.[133] In later printings, mention of Birdo being male was omitted, and further not included in most later games with the character.[131] | |
2004 | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door | Vivian | Trans woman | Vivian is a transgender woman who is mocked by her elder sister Beldam, who misgenders her and refers to her a cross-dresser. This characterization was largely excised in the English localization.[134] | |
Mass Effect | 2007 | Mass Effect | Commander Shepard | Lesbian or bisexual | Commander Shepard is the main character in Mass Effect, and the player may choose to play as either male or female. A female Commander Shepard has two possible love interests; the male human Kaidan Alenko, and the female appearing asari Liara T'Soni. Shepard may also optionally have a sexual encounter with the Asari Consort as a reward for completing their side quest.[135] |
Liara T'Soni | Genderqueer and pansexual | Dr. Liara T'Soni is an Asari, a single gendered species that has traditionally feminine traits but reproduces by means other than sexual reproduction. There is an option for a subplot romance and sexual encounter with her, regardless of the gender of Commander Shepard, the player character.[135] | |||
2010 | Mass Effect 2 | Kelly Chambers, Samara and Morinth | Bisexual | Commander Shepard, regardless of their own gender, is able to romance Kelly, Samara and Morinth. Kelly is Commander Shepard's yeoman. Samara and Morinth are asari. Morinth is Samara's daughter. | |
2012 | Mass Effect 3 | Kaidan Alenko, Kelly Chambers, and Diana Allers, Liara T'Soni and Samara | Bisexual | Three humans (Kaidan Alenko, Kelly Chambers and Diana Allers), and two asari (Liara T'Soni and Samara) express romantic interest in the player character Shepard, regardless of their gender. Specialist Samantha Traynor and Lieutenant Steve Cortez are only interested in Shepard if they are of the same gender. Cortez's personal storyline revolves around moving past the relatively recent loss of his husband Robert. | |
Samantha Traynor | Lesbian | ||||
Steve Cortez | Gay | ||||
2017 | Mass Effect: Andromeda | Pelessaria "Peebee" B'Sayle, Vetra Nyx, Reyes Vidal and Jaal Ama Darav | Bisexual | Pathfinder Ryder is able to romance these characters, regardless of their gender: the asari Peebee and Keri, the female turian Vetra and the male angara Jaal. Jaal was made bisexual following a post release patch after community feedback, and is notable for being the first male LGBT squadmate in the franchise. A female Pathfinder Ryder can also have a lesbian relationship with the ship's science officer Dr. Suvi Anwar and a male Pathfinder Ryder can have a gay relationship with the ship's engineer Gil Brodie. | |
Suvi Anwar | Lesbian | ||||
Gil Brodie | Gay | ||||
Hainly Abrams | Trans woman | Hainly Abrams leads scientific research on one of the Andromeda Initiative's outposts. When the game initially released, Abrams would readily inform the player that she is transgender and the masculine name she was given at birth. She tells the player that she left the Milky Way galaxy searching for greater acceptance of her gender identity. The abruptness with which she shares this information received criticism from fans, and the game was later patched so that Abrams would only reveal this information if the player developed a supportive relationship with her.[136] | |||
Metal Gear | 2001 | Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | Vamp | Bisexual men | Vamp is bisexual and his name refers to his sexual orientation.[137] He was the lover of Scott Dolph, a Navy commander.[138] |
Scott Dolph | |||||
2004 | Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater | Major Raikov | Gay | Major Raikov had no interest in women. However, Major Raikov and Volgin are in a relationship.[139] | |
Volgin | Bisexual man | ||||
2010 | Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker | Dr. Strangelove | Bisexual | In this game, we find a bisexual woman, with Dr. Strangelove being in love with The Boss. As her nickname implies, she had "a strange love". This is a reference to her sexuality. | |
Mortal Kombat | 2015 | Mortal Kombat X | Kung Jin | Gay | In a conversation with Raiden, Kung Jin is afraid of the Shaolin not accepting him, with Raiden encouraging him that they "care only about what is in [his] heart. Not whom [his] heart desires." After speculation by fans of Kung Jin's sexuality, the game's cinematic director confirmed that the new kombatant is indeed gay.[140] |
2019 | Mortal Kombat 11 | Mileena, Tanya | Bisexual | Once Mileena's Tower Kombat is complete, her ending shows her and Tanya in a relationship feeding their newborn baby human flesh. This ends years of speculation on their sexuality.[141] | |
2023 | Mortal Kombat 1 | Following a reset of the series timeline, Mileena and Tanya are once again romantically involved, though their relationship remains secret for political reasons, with the two hoping this can change once Mileena becomes Empress of Outworld.[142] | |||
Nurse Love | 2011 | Nurse Love Syndrome | Various girls | Lesbian | These are yuri visual novels centered around lesbian nursing school students.[143][144] |
2015 | Nurse Love Addiction |
P–Z
Series | Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Persona | 1999 | Persona 2: Innocent Sin | Tatsuya Suou | Bisexual man | Tatsuya is the game's protagonist who attends the prestigious Seven Sisters school. Jun is a Kasugayama student and Tatsuya's childhood best friend, who plays a major role in Innocent Sin as a late party member. Jun is heavily implied to have romantic feelings towards Tatsuya throughout the game and his sexuality is confirmed by a demon contact in-game.[145]
Players can choose to have Tatsuya and Jun enter a relationship which is treated as them being lovers.[146] Tatsuya's attraction to both sexes is also implied, regardless of which character is romanced.[145] |
Jun Kurosu | Gay | ||||
Anna Yoshizaka | Lesbian | Anna is a former start athlete and drop-out student from Seven Sisters High. She is implied to hold romantic feelings towards the party member Yukino Mayuzumi. In the official novel where Anna retells the events of Innocent Sin as the protagonist, she confesses her one-sided feelings with the quote "I love you, and am captive to your beautiful face." referencing the poem Der Erlkönig by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.[145] | |||
Sumaru Genie | Intersex | Sumaru Genie is an intersex fortuneteller.[145] | |||
2000 | Persona 2: Eternal Punishment | Jun Kashihara | Gay | Jun and Tatsuya from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (1999) reappeared in this game, with the former having a minor role.[146] | |
Tatsuya Suou | Bisexual man | ||||
Anna and Noriko | Lesbian | Anna reappears in the second game as a female track and field athlete whose relationship with her admirer Noriko contains lesbian overtones.[145] | |||
Sumaru Genie | Intersex | Sumaru Genie, an intersex fortuneteller from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (1999), appears in this game as well.[145] | |||
2016 | Persona 5 | "Scruffy Romantic" Angel | Gay | The original 2016 version of Persona 5 included multiple comedic scenes where two stereotypical gay men sexually harass a teenager.[147] Some versions of the updated re-release of the game Persona 5 Royal altered the scenes to instead have the two men be drag queens mistaking him for a newcomer to the scene, and the two men now have names instead of just basic descriptions.[148] | |
"Beefy Trendsetter" Julian | |||||
Tekken | 1994 | Tekken 6, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Tekken 7 | Leo Kliesen | Genderqueer | Leo's gender is deliberately ambiguous. |
South Park | 2014 | South Park: The Stick of Truth | Various characters | Gay | This RPG game is based on the South Park TV series and contains many references to gay characters from that series. |
Mr. Slave | Gay | Mr. Slave is a gay character in South Park. In this game, he has a prominent role, being the subject of an early quest, then coming back to help the main protagonist during fights. The last quest of the main storyline also takes place in a part of Mr. Slave's anatomy. | |||
2017 | South Park: The Fractured but Whole | Tweek and Craig | Gay | Tweek and Craig are two playable characters. Their gay relationship is not only part of the storyline but also gives them special abilities in combat when both characters are in the party, and is the subject of collectable Yaoi. | |
Story of Seasons | 2014 | Story of Seasons | Marian | Genderqueer | The androgynous male doctor Marian is often addressed with female pronouns and refers to herself as "big sister". |
2020 | Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town | Playable character and all romanceable characters | Bisexual (except in the Japanese version) | In the Japanese version, the "Best Friends" system allows the player character to "form a lifelong partnership with a character of the same sex."[149] In the North American and European versions, the player character can marry characters of the same gender, and unique dialogue lines are added to acknowledge it as a same-gender relationship.[150] | |
2023 | Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life | Player character | Non-binary (optional), bisexual | The player character can use he/him, she/her, or they/them pronouns, and there are no gender restrictions on the player character's appearance or clothing.[151] | |
All romanceable characters | Bisexual | The player character can romance any romanceable character with no gender-based restrictions.[151] | |||
Watch Dogs | 2016 | Watch Dogs 2 | Miranda Comay | Trans woman | Miranda Comay is a city councilwoman of San Francisco, a long time friend of protagonist Marcus Holloway and his family, and a transgender woman.[152] |
2022 | Watch Dogs: Legion | Various procedurally-generated playable characters and NPCs | Various LGBTQ+ identities | The procedural generation that generates Legion's characters includes many options for their sexualities and genders, giving them same-gender significant others or assigning them sexualities outright in their "metadata" section.[153] | |
Xenoblade Chronicles | 2017 | Xenoblade Chronicles 2 | Sheba | Lesbian | It is stated in-game that Sheba's preference is for women. It is her goal to have a harem consisting of all girls. |
Azami | Possibly bisexual or pansexual | Azami's possessive behavior over and clear romantic interest in her Driver remains the same no matter who her Driver is. | |||
Roc | Non-binary | Despite being referred to with male pronouns, Roc does not fulfill the in-game requirement for a male Blade on Merc Missions, nor does he count as a female or an animal Blade. In the game's data, his gender is listed as "4". | |||
2022 | Xenoblade Chronicles 3 | Juniper | Non-binary | The English localization of the game uses "they/them" pronouns when referring to Juniper. In other languages, the game refers to Juniper with non-gendered pronouns, a mix of pronouns, or no pronouns. Within the game's data, Juniper's internal gender value is set as "2", while every other character is set as a "0" (male), or a "1" (female).[154] | |
A | Genderqueer | Featured in the Future Redeemed DLC expansion. The English localization does not refer to A by any pronouns. When Shulk inquires about A's more feminine appearance compared to that of Alvis, the character's previous more masculine form, Rex comments "Logos was the male persona. And Pneuma the female one. Ontos [as the third being that makes up the Trinity Processor] was meant to stand somewhere in between."[155] |
See also
References
- "GLBT History in Video Games: 1980s". Gaming Bus. Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
- "GLBT History in Video Games: 1990s". Gaming Bus. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
- Greer, Sam (May 15, 2018). "Queer representation in games isn't good enough, but it is getting better". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- "A history of LGBTQ representation in video games". www.theinterrobang.ca. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
- de Rochefort, Simone (August 19, 2021). "French games used to be weird". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on December 31, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
- Greer, Sam (May 15, 2018). "Queer representation in games isn't good enough, but it is getting better". GamesRadar+. Future plc. Archived from the original on July 29, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- Winkie, Luke (April 18, 2014). "From a pink dinosaur to "Gay Tony": The evolution of LGBT video game characters". Salon. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
- Winkie, Luke (June 9, 2014). "A Q&A With The Designer of the First LGBT Computer Game". Paste. Wolfgang's. Archived from the original on June 9, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- Henley, Stacey (July 7, 2020). "Never Mind The Last Of Us, Here's The Real Game With The First LGBT+ Protagonist". USGamer. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- Shaw, Adrienne (August 29, 2015). "Sexuality and gender in Circuit's Edge". LGBTQ Video Game Archive. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- Flanagan, Jack (May 16, 2014). "The complete history of LGBT video game characters". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- Flaherty, Josh (June 24, 2012). "Homosexuality in Video Games". Secret Laboratory. Maple Hills Press. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- Tieryas, Peter (December 22, 2015). "A Daunting Ice Planet: Phantasy Star II Replay (Part 2)". Tor.com. Tor Books. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- Shaw, Adrienne; Friesem, Elizaveta (2016). "Where Is the Queerness in Games? Types of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Content in Digital Games". International Journal of Communication. 10: 3877–3889. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- Sierra On-Line (November 1989). Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals. Sierra On-Line.
Narrator: 'Poor Larry. Not only does Kalalu no longer love you, she's fallen in love with another woman! What could Kalalau possibly see in an Amazonian Harley-riding former-cannibal lesbian slot-machine repairwoman?'
- lgbtqgamearchiveadmin (September 11, 2015). "Baths at Buccaneer's Den in Ultima VII: Black Gate". LGBTQ Video Game Archive. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
In Ultima VII: Black Gate, the player encounters a bath house in Buccaneer's Den. In this bath house the player can pay for the services of male and female sex workers, regardless of their avatar's gender.
- Ogles, Jacob (February 2, 2018). "25 LGBT Video Game Characters". The Advocate. Here Media. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
- Castillo, José Carlos (September 7, 2015). "Videojuegos: 3 décadas de personajes LGTB (I)". El Correo. Grupo Vocento. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- Murray, Sean (December 31, 2019). "Streets Of Rage 4: The Story So Far". TheGamer. Archived from the original on April 2, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- "EarthBound and the First Gay Tony". gaygamer.net. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
- "Eien no Filena – Review". Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- "Atma Games: Eternal Filena". Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- Sorlie, Audun. "True Love". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
- Shaw, Adrienne (September 10, 2015). "Sendak in Bahamut Lagoon". LGBTQ Video Game Archive. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
- Shannon, Lorelai (1997). "Phantasmagoria 2 Overview Memorial". Anthony Larme. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
- Cobbett, Richard (February 20, 2011). "They did it first". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
- "Interview: Takashi Iizuka Talks NiGHTS". Nintendo Life. December 5, 2007. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- Riendeau, Danielle (February 17, 2011). "The Weekly Geek: Lesbians on "The Last Express"". AfterEllen. Lesbian Nation. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
- Yuhas, Laine (June 4, 2021). "I Revisited 'SaGa Frontier'—and My Bisexual Video Game Crush". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- Riendeau, Danielle (April 16, 2013). "Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers Review: Dream of the 90s". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- Parkin, Simon (June 18, 2014). "The Kiss That Changed Video Games". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- Ferox, Sissorelle (August 27, 2015). "Transgender Characters Revealed in 'RuneScape'". FemHype. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
- Klepek, Patrick (April 11, 2016). "That Time A Publisher Turned A Teenage Fantasy Into Their Entire Marketing Campaign". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Archived from the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
- "Meiyuan in Shadow Hearts". LGBTQ Video Game Archive. November 13, 2015. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- "Lore:36 Lessons of Vivec, Sermon 1 - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)". en.uesp.net. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- "Lore:36 Lessons of Vivec, Sermon 35 - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)". en.uesp.net. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- MacDonald, Keza (January 25, 2012). "A Gay History of Gaming". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- BioWare (July 19, 2003). Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. LucasArts.
Belaya: 'Juhani was a… a dear companion to me for many years. We spent many nights together alone under the stars.'
- Whitbrook, James (June 12, 2020). "Star Wars' Not-So-Brief History of Fleeting LGBTQ+ Representation". Gizmodo. G/O Media. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- "Lionel and Mark Finley in Deus Ex: Invisible War". LGBTQ Video Game Archive. August 29, 2016. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- Hsu, Janet (October 31, 2014). "Ace Attorney Trilogy - Surprising Tidbits You Never Knew!". Capcom. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- King, Jade (August 30, 2021). "Fable's Queer Representation Is A Progressive Product Of Its Time". TheGamer. Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- Trevana, Lowie (November 8, 2021). "The Sims 2 taught me it was okay to be gay". Gayming Magazine. Gray Jones Media Ltd. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- Barton, Matthew D. "Gay Characters in Videogames". Armchair Arcade. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- Durfau (January 5, 2017). "I'm Playing "Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines" Because I'm Ready For Some 2004 Adult Content". Autostraddle. The Excitant Group LLC. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- Payne, Peter (February 25, 2020). "Togainu no Chi – Lost Blood is Now Available via Steam and Download!". J-List. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- Borsellino, Mary (January 12, 2020). "Togainu no Chi ~Lost Blood~ Hits Players Deep in the Heart". J-List. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- Crystal (June 21, 2012). "GLBT History in Video Games: 2000s (Part Two)". Gaming Bus. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
- Alexander (August 6, 2006). "Top 20 Gayest Video Game Characters - Honorable Mentions And Ones We Missed #8". GayGamer. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
- Bamsey, Ryan Thomas (June 17, 2023). "A Terrible FromSoftware Game Gave Me My First Gay Video Game Character". TheGamer. Archived from the original on June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- Phillips, Tom (February 13, 2019). "Controversial elements scuppered Mother 3 western release - report". Eurogamer. Gamer Network Limited. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
- Gann, Patrick (November 1, 2006). "Baten Kaitos Origins". RPGFan Reviews. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
- Webb, Charles (January 22, 2013). "Impressions: 'Corpse Party' (PSP) - I Kind Of Broke A Visual Novel". MTV. ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
- Sinclair, Brendan (October 23, 2006). "Bully's boy-on-boy scenes causing a stir". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
- Hernandez, Patricia (September 2, 2013). "Players Freaked Over Achievement That Requires Them To Kiss Boys". Kotaku. G/O Media. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
- Levine, Kevin [@levine] (February 4, 2014). "RT @ILeIYeSs: @IGLevine For a Presentation of Rapture I need one information? Gays in Repture? Yes/no? Thank You --of Sander Cohen and more" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020 – via Twitter.
- Dawes, Dorian (June 7, 2018). "Videogames, Erotic Horror, and the Politics of the Grotesque". Medium. A Medium Corporation. Archived from the original on August 28, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
- Melick, Todd (December 23, 2007). "Feature: Interview: Clive Barker". GamePro. International Data Group. p. 3. Archived from the original on December 25, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
- Tanaka, John (August 29, 2008). "Captain Rainbow Playtest". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- Gillen, Kieron (September 16, 2008). "Whip It: Mighty Jill Off". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- "Mighty Jill Off by anna anthropy". itch.io. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- Dahlen, Christ (December 22, 2008). "Violet and Everybody Dies". The A.V. Club. Onion Inc. Archived from the original on January 15, 2009. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
- Shearon, Andrea (June 19, 2021). "Leona and Diana Lesbian Romance Confirmed In New League of Legends Story". TheGamer. Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
- Indigo, Xan (December 11, 2021). "Arcane's LGBTQ+ Representation Fixes A Problem With The Video Games". Screen Rant. Valnet Inc. Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
- "SkinSpotlights on Twitter". Twitter. May 18, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- "Alex Quach⁷ 郭勇安 on Twitter". Twitter. May 18, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- Lee, Julia (November 19, 2018). "Neeko revealed to be League's first openly LGBTQ champion". Rift Herald. Vox Media. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
- Voice - Rell, the Iron Maiden [SUBBED] - English. SkinSpotlights. November 24, 2020. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023 – via YouTube.
- Meaghan 🍂 [@MeaghanBowe] (August 26, 2021). "yes, they are! in LoR, we had the opportunity to show the unique character and diversity of the Marai people. we wanted to show just how courageous Nami is in her quest, and how much she has to lose.💜💙 t.co/zufzPZta9K" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023 – via Twitter.
- "Updating Spirit Guard Udyr - League of Legends". www.leagueoflegends.com. August 23, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- Voice - Udyr, the Spirit Walker - English, retrieved May 23, 2023
- Ruppert, Liana (December 1, 2017). "Varus' Story Retold, The Haunting Tale Of Love And Loss For The League Of Legends Champion". ComicBook.com. ViacomCBS. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
- Giehl, Devon [@devongiehl] (April 29, 2020). "[clears throat, preparing to make the only League of Legends tweet I've made in quite some time] TF and Graves are married, and it's because I planted the seed of that shit when I worked at Riot despite getting In Trouble for it all the time" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021 – via Twitter.
- Giehl, Devon [@devongiehl] (June 27, 2018). "For what it's worth, when I worked at riot I wanted Graves and TF to have a complicated and not very heterosexual backstory! Also yes we very much wanted Diana to be canon queer" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021 – via Twitter.
- Maurino, Michael [@Iron_Stylus] (June 26, 2018). "Right? They'll always be lovers in our eyes" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2021 – via Twitter.
- Stavropoulos, Andreas (July 7, 2021). "Graves' upcoming Sentinels skin will have 'slightly different' VFX after level 11 in League of Legends". Dot Esports. Gamurs. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- McNulty, Thomas (May 11, 2022). "League of Legends Pride Icons Show Graves & Twisted Fate As A Couple". Screen Rant. Valnet Inc. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- "The Boys and Bombolini - Universe of League of Legends". universe.leagueoflegends.com. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- Oparei, DeObia [@DeObia] (October 13, 2022). "I'm excited to give life and voice to K'Sante and make history portraying the first LGBTQ black Champion Warrior @LeagueOfLegends t.co/yCVvtZXCTe" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2023 – via Twitter.
- "How 'League of Legends' made its first proudly gay, Black champion". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- "MangaGamer Announces Pre-Orders for A Kiss For The Petals: Remembering How We Met". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- Hester, Larry (June 8, 2013). "The Coolest LGBT Video Game Characters Ever". Complex. Verizon Hearst Media Partners. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- Troughton, James (September 23, 2021). "Assassin's Creed: Syndicate Was Almost Ahead Of Its Time For Bi Representation". The Gamer. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
- Makuch, Eddie (September 24, 2015). "Assassin's Creed Syndicate Has Series-First Transgender Character". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- Romano, Nick (October 9, 2018). "Ok, Cupid: An ode to same-sex romancing in Assassin's Creed Odyssey". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
- "Inside the Box: Inclusivity". Gearbox Software. August 26, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
- TINY TINA'S Assault on Dragon Keep Gameplay Walkthrough! New Borderlands 2 DLC with Anthony Burch!. Rev3Games. May 28, 2013. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022 – via YouTube.
- "Talking Female Characters, "Friendzoning," and Representation With The Writers Of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel". The Mary Sue. October 23, 2014.
- Greene, Tristan (August 16, 2019). "Damn near everyone is queer in the Borderlands franchise and I'm here for it". The Next Web. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- Goldberg, Harold (September 13, 2019). "Meet the queer, non-binary, pansexual characters of 'Borderlands 3'". Washington Post. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair - Nagito Komaeda Free Time Events. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- 緒方恵美@パートナー募集中🏰CF #プレフェス [@Megumi_Ogata] (July 26, 2016). "「絶対希望バースデー」サンプル盤! 狛枝「やっぱり円盤で聴くと、絶望と希望がいい音で押し寄せてきて格別だね...♡」 c/w「残桜」は、彼の裏の想いを綴った歌。どちらも作詞は私。 8/3発売。初回のみステッカー付♪ #ダンガンロンパ t.co/PssS6MCOhl" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022 – via Twitter.
- Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair - Teruteru Hanamura Free Time Events. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- Danganronpa V3 - Kaito Momota Free Time Events. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- "Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony - Official Site". danganronpa.us. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
- Danganronpa V3 - Kokichi Oma Free Time Events. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- Danganronpa V3 - Kokichi Oma Love Suite Event (English) [PS4]. Accessed June 8, 2023.
- The Making of Dishonored 2 with Harvey Smith - gamesradar on Twitch, November 22, 2016, retrieved February 2, 2023
- Dishonored 2 - Losing Deirdre, retrieved February 3, 2023
- Hernandez, Patricia (November 23, 2012). "Gaming Made Me: Fallout 2". Rock Paper Shotgun. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- LeJacq, Yannick (June 26, 2015). "A Brief History Of Gay Marriage In Video Games". Kotaku. G/O Media. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- Sterling, Jim (November 10, 2010). "Homosexuality and Fallout: New Vegas: A gay marriage made in gay Heaven". GameFront. Archived from the original on November 27, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- "New Fallout 4 Character Romance Details Emerge From QuakeCon". Game Informer.
- Bamsey, Ryan (June 29, 2021). "Final Fantasy IX's Quina Quen Is Surprisingly Great Non-Binary Representation". CBR. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
- Lupetti, Matteo (September 10, 2020). "Final Fantasy IX, Quina Quen, and Translating the Genderless". Gayming Magazine. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
- Hart, Aimee (February 9, 2021). "Gayming Awards 2021: Best LGBTQ Character". Gayming Magazine.
- Nightingale, Ed (July 5, 2023). "Final Fantasy 16's moving LGBTQ+ representation proves the series is modernising". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
- Capcom Design Works: Early Days (in Japanese). Enterbrain. 2000. p. 197. ISBN 978-4-7577-0412-1.
- "The Making of Final Fight". Retro Gamer (37): 52. March 2007.
- スタジオベントスタッフ; スタジオベントスタッフ (2000). All About カプコン対戦格闘ゲーム 1987-2000 (All About Capcom Head-To-Head Fighting Game 1987-2000) (in Japanese). スタジオベントスタッフ. スタジオベントスタッフ. p. 339. ISBN 4-88554-676-1.
- Leone, Matt (January 2008). "The Big Comeback". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 224. p. 68.
- Street Fighter X Tekken: Artworks. Capcom. September 2012. p. 104. ISBN 1926778510.
- Capcom (September 27, 2005). Capcom Classics Collection Vol. I. Capcom. Level/area: Final Fight biographies.
- Patterson, Eric L. (October 10, 2011). "EGM Interview: Street Fighter X Tekken's Yoshinori Ono" Archived 2014-02-23 at the Wayback Machine. Electronic Gaming Monthly. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
- "Final Fight: Double Impact - Press Kit". capcom-unity.com. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
- Roberts, Jack (June 8, 2023). "How to play Marisa in Street Fighter 6: Moves, combos & backstory". www.ggrecon.com. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- Sanfilippo, Chris (March 24, 2023). "Street Fighter 6's Greatest Asset Is Diversity". TheGamer. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- Tortorici, Colby (October 20, 2019). "Every LGBTQ Character In Nintendo Published Games". TheGamer. Valnet Inc. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
- Ashcraft, Brian (July 6, 2015). "Why Some People Are Calling Fire Emblem Fates 'Homophobic'". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- Bolton, Doug (January 21, 2016). "Nintendo has removed a 'gay conversion' subplot from an upcoming 3DS game". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- Madlangbayan, Lucas (June 24, 2022). "The History of Queer Representation in Fire Emblem". CBR.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
- Hart, Aimee (November 3, 2020). "Can You Be Gay in Fire Emblem: Three Houses?". Gayming Magazine. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
- "Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes says bisexual rights - Gayming Magazine". gaymingmag.com. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- "Male Byleth finally gets a new boyfriend in Fire Emblem Three Houses - Gayming Magazine". gaymingmag.com. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- "Male Byleth and Yuri have an S-Support - Gayming Magazine". gaymingmag.com. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- Williams, Blue (June 18, 2020). "Characters Everyone Hates In Grand Theft Auto". Looper. Static Media. Archived from the original on December 30, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- "The King of Fighters XII for Novices". Kotaku. June 10, 2009.
- Tørnquist, Ragnar [@ragso] (June 26, 2015). "Well ... that choice had Nothing to do with his sexual orientation! Kiss or no kiss, he's always been (and will always be) gay!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- Ray Corriea, Alexa (November 17, 2014). "Nintendo Reveals the Toads' Gender Secret". GameSpot. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
"This is maybe a little bit of a strange story, but we never really went out of our way to decide on the sex of these characters, even though they have somewhat gendered appearances", Hayashida said.
- Ray Corriea, Alexa (November 17, 2014). "Nintendo Reveals the Toads' Gender Secret". GameSpot. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
Hayashida clarified that Toads are not mushrooms at all, but the resemblance and nomenclature is too uncanny not to wonder. "This particular riddle might stay unsolved", Hayashida said. "That's one of the great mysteries of the Mario universe."
- Loguidice & Barton 2009, pp. 280.
- Burra, Kevin (June 7, 2012). "Electronic Entertainment Expo Inspires Look At 10 LGBT Video Game Characters". HuffPost. BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- "Doki Doki Panic Manual" (PDF). Nintendo. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- Baird, Scott (May 3, 2017). "15 Classic Nintendo Games That Had To Censored". Screen Rant. Valnet Inc. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- Rothery, Jen (June 11, 2021). "Mass Effect Legendary Edition romance options guide". PCGamesN. Network N. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
- Polo, Susana (April 5, 2017). "BioWare details changes to controversial transgender NPC". Polygon. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- Alexandra, Heather (April 7, 2020). "Metal Gear Solid 2 Retrospective: Be Careful What You Wish For". Kotaku. G/O Media. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- Dickens, Donna (May 9, 2011). "16 LGBT Video Game Characters". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- "9 Great Video Games For Gay Gamers". NewNowNext. LogoTV. June 21, 2014. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- Tassi, Paul (April 17, 2015). "Blink And You Might Miss Mortal Kombat's First Gay Character". Forbes. Integrated Whale Media. Archived from the original on August 2, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
- "New Mortal Kombat game confirms fan favourite is canonically queer, ending years of speculation". PinkNews. November 24, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- https://www.cbr.com/mk1-tanya-mileena-kung-jin-lgbtq/
- Wong, Alistair (January 22, 2020). "Nurse Love Syndrome is a Serious Look at What It Means to Be a Nurse". Siliconera. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- "Hospital Romance Goes Portable With Vita Release Of Nurse Love Addiction - Siliconera". Siliconera. July 1, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- Qureshi, D. (June 25, 2019). "Persona 2 — A classic JRPG that was ahead of its time with queer representation". Medium. A Medium Corporation. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- Grosso, Robert (February 18, 2019). "Queer Characters in Gaming - A Brief History". TechRaptor. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- Marks, Tom (February 17, 2020). "Persona 5 Royal Will Change Homophobic Scenes For Western Release". IGN. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- Shepard, Kenneth (March 17, 2020). "Localization can't make Persona 5 Royal inclusive". Gayming Magazine. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- XSEED Games (May 1, 2020). "STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town Localization Blog #1". XSEED Games Blog. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- Valentine, Rebekah (March 25, 2021). "Story of Seasons' Localizers Are Driving the Series' Newfound Celebration of Same-Sex Relationships". IGN. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- Shepard, Kenneth (June 20, 2023). "This Classic Farming Sim Remake Does Right By Its Queer Fans 20 Years Later". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- "If you're looking for diversity in video games, look to 'Watch_Dogs 2'". Newsweek. May 6, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- Petit, Carolyn (November 9, 2020). "Queer identity in Watch Dogs: Legion should be more than flavor text". Polygon. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- King, Jade (July 29, 2022). "Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Has A Non-Binary Character And You Need To Get Over It". TheGamer. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
- Pisoni, Caleb (June 8, 2023). "Nintendo: A Queer Retrospective". Paste. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
Bibliography
- DePass, Tanya (2018). Game Devs & Others: Tales from the Margins. Boca Raton, Florida, United States: CRC Press. ISBN 9781351364140.
- Loguidice, Bill; Barton, Matt (2009). Vintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time. Waltham, Massachusetts, United States: Focal Press. ISBN 978-0-240-81146-8.