MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Microsoft has apologised for its use of female dancers dressed as school girls at a GDC party last week. That the platform holder chose to present an event in this way shortly after hosting a Women in Gaming lunch at GDC angered attendees further still. Now the company has said …
Read More »Sledgehammer commits to portraying strong women in its Call of Duty titles
The co-founder and studio head of COD developer Sledgehammer Games has said that the industry must start confronting its diversity problem. As reported by Games Industry, a 2005 report from the International Game Developers Association found that 88.5 per cent of developers were male, 83.3 per cent white and 92 …
Read More »VIDEO: Second season of Sarkeesian’s Tropes vs Women arrives
The first episode of the second series of Anita Sarkeesian’s Tropes vs Women video series is now available to view online – and you can watch it right here. Called ‘Strategic Butt Coverings’, the short examines the different approach to gender character design in regards to how a player’s attention …
Read More »Street Fighter V ‘butt slap’ removed to avoid risk of offence
Capcom has said that some recent tweaks to Street Fighter V were born of its want for the game to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. The developer yesterday said that it had made several gameplay changes to try and ensure the game is accessible for as many …
Read More »‘No excuse’ for lack of diversity in games, Payne says
Games veteran Andy Payne says there is "no excuse" for the lack of diversity within the industry workforce. Delivering the opening keynote at today’s European Women In Games Conference, the UKIE chairman addressed the difference between the gender split in the games industry compared to other sectors. Creative Skillset research …
Read More »Jessica Moreno becomes fourth senior female to leave Reddit in last month
Reddit’s head of community Jessica Moreno has left the company, marking the fourth major exit by a female employee in the last month. Moreno has stated that her gender played no role in the decision. Her departure follows those of AMA organiser Victoria Taylor, CEO Ellen Pao and chief engineer …
Read More »Assassin’s Creed Syndicate’s playable female lead was planned before Unity gender outcry
Developer Ubisoft Quebec has denied the longstanding accusations that it added in a playable female protagonist to Assassin’s Creed Syndicate in response to the controversy surrounding Unity. Unity was last year criticised for not giving players the option of using a female character in the game’s four-person multiplayer. The furore …
Read More »Fans in uproar over cosmetic changes to League of Legends’ Fiora
Riot has given one of League of Legends’ heroes a visual makeover, and its boards are alight with protests from fans. As the game’s roster evolves rapidly, it is quite normal for Riot to revisit existing Heroes and give them a rejig to keep them thematically consistent and competitive in …
Read More »Rust will start randomly assigning you gender
Having already toyed with race and penis size, Rust is about to brave yet another frontier – automatically assigning a player’s gender. Until now the game has only offered male player models, but creator Garry Newman has said an upcoming patch the game will add a female design. The female …
Read More »Online sexism ‘really just a form of bullying’
A new study has said the hostility inflicted on women in many online environments is little more than a form of bullying. ‘Insights into Sexism: Male Status and Performance Moderates Female-Directed Hostile and Amicable Behaviour’ by Michael Kasumovic and Jeffrey Kuznekoff found that women receive up to ten times as …
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