Humble Store is doing a Female Protagonist Sale, plus the upcoming Steam sale dates leaked

Quoting: KimyrielleTomb Raider existed before 2014, and that's still the only truly major franchise featuring a female lead I am aware of.

There are Metroid, Bayonetta, Shantae, Beyond Good & Evil, BloodRayne, Perfect Dark, No One Lives Forever, Portal, Parasite Eve, Dino Crisis, Fatal Frame, The Longest Journey, Syberia... Not series but still big games like Alien: Isolation or Control. Also, if a game has several characters to choose from or create-a-character feature, it always has females. I'd say, people who for some reason play as women only have a lot of games to play.

Quoting: KimyrielleApparently somebody cares. If not, you'd expect protagonist gender being picked randomly and thus the distribution between male and female leads should be 50/50 - but with the overwhelming majority of all games using male protagonists, you can't really argue it's random. The question is really why in 2019 it apparently still matters enough to systemically prefer male over female characters...

I am not arguing the spread of lead roles is determined by random picking nor am I arguing it should be. It is the Writers and designers creative freedom to choose whatever they deem fits. I would however explain the male/female spread with historic military- or otherwise male dominated scenarios rather than a conspiratorial systematic agenda to keep women out of videogames.
Anyway the point I was trying to make is: Gender does not matter.

Quoting: Kimyrielle

Quoting: SirLootALotWho actually cares about the gender of a lead protagonist?

Apparently somebody cares.

I care.
I like to watch nice boobs/bums as an eye-candy during gameplay and for the same reason I want there to be aesthetic and muscular male character for those who want that kind of eye-candy.
Theres also things what makes one character fit in specific role better than others, like playing muscular and powerful male orc as a tank over undead female.


In games where I'm unable to create character with specified gender, I'm totally fine when that gender and other things fit in role what they are in.
That said, I personally wouldn't buy next Hitman if it came only female protagonist as I woulnd't buy next Tomb Raider with a male only playable character.