Resignations and reckoning: Game industry’s existential quest for a more inclusive space

American culture — who it represents, what it says — is undergoing a rethink, a long overdue course-correction in which social movements against racism and sexual harassment and abuse have galvanized participants to demand change. Techland, the developer of “Dying Light 2,” issued a statement that said, “together with Chris Avellone, we’ve decided to end our cooperation,” citing “no tolerance” for “matters of sexual harassment.” Electronic Arts, distributor of “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order,” said in a statement, “EA has no plans to work with Chris Avellone moving forward.” Then late last month, several high-ranking staffers at gaming giant Ubisoft were placed on leave after online allegations sparked a still-ongoing investigation of a range of sexual improprieties, many of which were detailed by Kotaku. “It’s part of this history of being an outsider, of something that people don’t take seriously,” says Naomi Clark, a game designer and scholar with the NYU Game Center. “I think for a long time it was thought of as this last bastion of masculinity, and it was thought of this weird niche thing for nerds and geeks,” says Anita Sarkeesian, founder of Feminist Frequency, a not-for-profit organization that analyzes media and games that rose to prominence with an online series entitled “Tropes Vs. Women in Games.” “The mainstream didn’t pay attention to games for a long time,” says Sarkeesian, who is in the midst of launching the Games and Online Harassment Hotline, a free text-based service designed to provide emotional support or referrals to those in need. Welcome to “A Woman Goes to a Private Games Industry Party,” a game vignette created by developer Rosa Carbó-Mascarell designed to articulate what it’s like to be a woman in the interactive space.