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These multiplayer games have the friendliest communities for women and marginalized genders

Raidiant Staff

October 5, 2022

The gaming industry has been riddled with toxicity towards women and marginalized genders for years. Sexism in esports and online multiplayer gaming runs deep: it’s been around as long as video games have. Let’s face it; if you choose to hop into an online lobby as yourself and you are not a man (or don’t sound like one), there’s a decent chance you will experience some sort of harassment in most games. Unfortunately, this is a challenging problem for game makers and developers to combat. Creating an open, accepting, and friendly community relies upon those who participate in it rather than those who create it. Luckily, several multiplayer games are much less likely to make a non-male identified player feel out of place. If you are looking for somewhere to participate in something like this, read on.

Valorant

Since its release, Valorant has slowly morphed into an all-inclusive playground for everyone to enjoy. It has been reported that 30% to 40% of all Valorant players are women. Typically, first-person shooter games are some of the toughest for women to play without being harassed, but with Valorant, this is not the case.

In the case of Valorant, its acceptance of women and marginalized genders came about due to a combination of factors. First, Riot pledged to make Valorant more accepting than its previous titles. Many of us know, especially those who play it, that League of Legends, which is another Riot title, can be one of the more toxic gaming communities to be a part of. When Riot released Valorant, they pledged to create a more accepting community around it. Not only have they included many female characters, but these characters are also realistic and, importantly, are not sexualized. Additionally, Riot games started the Valorant Championship Series Game changers program that highlights players that identify as women or other marginalized genders. This isn’t something you see very often professionally.

Additionally, Valorant players themselves have created their inclusive communities. One, called Galorants, is a Discord-based community that supports women in Valorant and encourages female and non-binary gamers to communicate with each other and team up together to create a more inclusive environment. Communities like these go a long way in helping to create inclusive and accepting communities.

Animal Crossing New Horizons

This one is a given. Animal Crossing has created one of the friendliest, most wholesome communities out there. And while it isn’t necessarily a competitive game, there are still plenty of ways to play with others. You can join many different Discord servers to talk about and play animal crossing with others. The majority of people who play the game are women, so it’s naturally very accepting to female and non-binary gamers. You can always find someone willing to help you. People open their islands to others without fear of griefing (because it really doesn’t happen that often).

If you aren’t looking for something hyper-competitive and would instead just find a community of gamers who play casually and will welcome you with open arms, definitely check out Animal Crossing and its player communities.

Rocket League

Besides the fact that Rocket League doesn’t allow for communication through many channels, its community is one of the more wholesome in the competitive esports scene. While there are still certainly plenty of toxic dudes playing all of the time, the majority of people you will be matched with are open and non-judgemental. Similarly, many popular female Rocket League streamers, and the men who stream it typically do their best to create safe communities and are not tolerant of sexist behavior. The game itself also has a lot of younger players who are open to teaming up with women and marginalized genders.

It’s safe to say that no matter how you engage with the game, whether you play, stream, watch others stream, or even if you want to join a Rocket League community Discord, it is unlikely that you will be harassed no matter how you identify.

Minecraft

Minecraft is a game for all ages and all genders and for people who want to do all types of things when they game. There are a million different ways to play Minecraft, so you will surely find one that suits your fancy.

Microsoft, the developer of Minecraft, has also created several initiatives to ensure that women are included in different aspects of the game. For example, Microsoft has an initiative called Girls Who Game in which they work to empower young girls to get involved in STEM education and gaming through Minecraft Education Edition. They host competitions for girl students across the country to compete in, in hopes of getting more women involved in STEM.

The game of Minecraft itself is also conducive to being inclusive. As mentioned above, you can really do anything you want to in the game, and if you happen to find yourself in a male-dominated space or a space you just generally don’t feel comfortable in, you can leave and find somewhere that you are more comfortable. There are even “girls-only” Minecraft servers that ban male players on sight if that’s your jam.

MMORPGS

I know. It’s a category and not a game. But most MMORPGs have extremely accepting communities you can be a part of. Right off the bat, two that come to mind are Guild Wars 2 and Final Fantasy XIV online. Both of these games have robust communities on Discord and Twitch, and for the most part, the players are very friendly. Not only are players typically not sexist, but they are also very helpful and willing to assist new players just getting into the games.

If you have never played an MMORPG before, now’s a great chance to try it out. If it isn’t your thing, that’s okay. Try some of the other games on the list.

Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves is another somewhat unconventional multiplayer title. If you have not heard of it, it’s a game that allows you to take on a seafaring pirate persona and travel around with others on your own pirate ship, completing quests and engaging in combat with others.

It’s another game that has a very high female player count. As such, it’s a community where women and marginalized genders typically don’t experience much harassment. While you can engage in voice chat with others and you can join a random crew, you can also choose to game with friends or people you know in the real world. There are also several different Sea of Thieves Discord servers you can use to make friends and find crewmates.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, it’s possible to face sexism in any gaming community – and you likely will. The titles above are some of the safer places to play, and you are more likely to feel welcome and accepted playing online in these games than in others.

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