We’ve come a long way since the 90s (a sobering thought for those of us that were born in them). According to a 1998 study by Michigan State University, female protagonists constituted just 15% of all video game protagonists. And 41% of games didn’t even feature a single female character. Weird to think when women make up 51% of the population.
Now, however, the gap has shrunk significantly. With legends like Lara Croft and Samus leading the charge, 18% of all video game main characters are female whilst 23% are male. With the remainder comprising either gender ambiguous, non-binary characters, or a player choice between genders.
But, of course, there’s still a gap to be filled. Which is why Diamond Lobby have taken it upon themselves to bring some gender-swapped video game characters from some of the most popular franchises. Because, why not? If comics can create alternate gender-swapped heroes then we want a piece of that action, too.
Diamond Lobby worked with designer Hossein Kalantari to take us through this journey of ‘what ifs’ - here’s some of our favourites:
Jenny Silverhand
The female lead to replace Keanu Reeves’ Johnny, Jennifer Silverhand is a military veteran and rock musician fighting against the corrupt government and corporations of Cyberpunk 2077. Now the obvious question is: which Hollywood A-Lister would be cast in her role? Our vote is for Charlize Theron.
Marcia Fenix
We threw in our two cents on the alternate universe in which Gears of War was a Battle Royale. But what if Marcus was instead Marcia, “a legendary war heroine earning the COG’s highest military award for her actions during the Battle of Aspho Fields”?
Michelle De Santa
In a game that featured multiple protagonists, it’s already a wonder why Rockstar didn’t seize the opportunity to make one of them female. Michelle De Santa would arguably have fit the role of Michael just as well. Perhaps the long-awaited GTA 6 will finally pave the way for the first female protagonist? Add it to the never-ending list of speculations.
Of course, for MMO players the opportunity to play a female has never been an issue. But as the gaming industry continues to dominate, we’re all for some more female representation in the single-player sphere. Be sure to check out the many other gender-swapped video game characters on the Diamond Lobby website.
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