Many pro-choice game studios were quick to respond to the controversial Roe v Wade decision.
Major Game Studios Take a Stand Against Supreme Court Roe v. Wade Decision
Written by Ollie Bradley at 06/27/2022, 06:11 AM
This weekend, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that constitutionally enshrined a pregnant woman's right to receive an abortion in the USA. What followed has been a firestorm of opinions and activism as certain states begin the process of making abortions illegal and millions of people express their outrage. And joining those voices are a number of bigtime video game studios.
The first of the pro-choice gamenstudios to react, Destiny 2 developer Bungie, has previously been vocal about their ethos to never avoid politics. Their latest statement came just moments after the Supreme Court's decision was made on Friday, and immediately announced a 'travel reimbursement program' for any of their employees who will now seek to travel outside of their state due to the new laws.
Other big studios then began to release their own statements in short order, including Ubisoft, Bethesda, Microsoft, EA, Naughty Dog, Innersloth, Devolver Digital, Insomniac Games and the International Game Developers Association to name just a few. Their responses ranged from taking direct action like Bungie, directing their followers to relevant charities, or simply declaring their pro-choice stance.
And to come out so quickly and forcefully on one side of this incredibly incendiary political issue isn't necessarily an unwise move from these studios. Significant backlash from employees was enough to cause EA to u-turn on their initial hands-off approach to trans rights and human rights at the beginning of Pride month. Now they are among the pro-choice game studios that have said they will expand benefits for their employees in the wake of Friday's decision.
It's also pertinent to note that a significant majority of US citizens are pro-choice despite the ruling, meaning it is prudent for these studios to show their support. How far they decide to go in that decision, however, remains to be seen.
For now, though, the situation is too volatile to predict. With states like Texas even looking to penalizing those that seek abortions in other states, there may only be so much that some pro-choice game studios can do.