List of video games with LGBT characters
The following is a list of video games with gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender characters, including any others falling under the LGBT umbrella term.
History
During the 1980s, characters that can be argued as identifying as LGBT were rarely shown in a realistic or non-stereotypical context and were often the objects of ridicule or jokes.[1]
In the 1990s, games (often Japanese ones) continued to use stereotypical LGBT characters which did not reflect the diversity in LGBT communities. However, more efforts were found to make more diverse and less one-dimensional characters.[2]
In the 2018, Gamesradar's Sam Greer pored through thousands of gaming titles and found 179 games with any LGBT representation.[3] Of those 179 games, only 83 have queer characters who are playable characters. And of those, only eight feature a main character who is explicitly pre-written as queer as opposed to them being queer as a character creation option.
Video game series
These are video game series where two or more games have LGBT characters.
A–D
Series | Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes | Developer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A Kiss for the Petals | 2006-2016 | All | Various girls, Teachers and Nurses | Lesbian | A series of adult yuri visual novels.[4][5] | Fuguriya |
Ace Attorney | 2004 | Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Trials and Tribulations | Jean Armstrong | Gay | Trials and Tribulations localization team director Janet Hsu, in looking through all information that is given about Jean in the game, and came to the conclusion that he is a gay cis man who likes to perform non-passing drag. Looking back at the game in 2014, Hsu said that she still thought Jean caused confusion due to the general public having a less informed and nuanced understanding of gender and sexuality at the time of the game's release.[6] | Capcom |
Assassin's Creed | 2007 | Assassin's Creed | Abu'l Nuquod | Gay | Abu'l Nuquod, one of the assassination targets in this historically based game, is strongly implied to be gay.[7] He believes that the people hate him because he is different, is shown caressing the cheek of one of his male guards during his angry tirade and claims that he cannot serve the cause of a God who calls him an abomination.[8] | Ubisoft Montreal |
2009 | Assassin's Creed II | Leonardo da Vinci | Gay | Lifelong friend of protagonist Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Leonardo da Vinci is implied to be gay, based on similar historical evidence. On one occasion, he assures Ezio that "women provide little distraction."[8] In the downloadable content The Da Vinci Disappearance, Ezio appears to know of Leonardo's romantic relationship with his pupil Salaì, stating that he approves of their relationship.[9] | ||
2010 | Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood | |||||
Salaì | ||||||
2015 | Assassin's Creed Syndicate | Jacob Frye | Bisexual | The lead writer of the game indicated that the team explicitly avoided giving Jacob, one of the game's two protagonists, a female love interest. He also hinted that Jacob needed to "figure himself out to some degree" after his brief partnership with Maxwell Roth.[10] This led to speculation regarding Jacob's sexuality, with the official Assassin's Creed Tumblr account confirming he is canonically bisexual.[11] | Ubisoft Quebec | |
Ned Wynert | Trans man | Ned Wynert is a minor non-playable character (NPC) and a trans man.[12] | ||||
2018 | Assassin's Creed Odyssey | Kassandra / Alexios | Potentially lesbian, gay, or bisexual | The player may choose to play as either Alexios or Kassandra; a pair of siblings. The game presents both opposite-sex and same-sex relationship options for the player character.[13] | ||
2020 | Assassin's Creed Valhalla | Eivor | Potentially lesbian, gay, or bisexual | Eivor's gender can be selected by the player. They can pursue both opposite-sex and same-sex relationships. | Ubisoft Montreal | |
Baldur's Gate | 2012 | Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition | Gorion's Ward | Potentially gay, or bisexual | The Gorion's Ward is the male or female protagonist of Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, a remake of Baldur's Gate (1998). Unlike the original game, in the 2012 remake Gorion's Ward can romance three newly introduced characters. The male half-orc Dorn Il-Khan is available for a relationship with a player of either gender, while the male human Rasaad yn Bashir and the female half-elf Neera are only available for straight relationships. | Overhaul Games |
Dorn Il-Khan | Bisexual | |||||
2013 | Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition | |||||
2016 | Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear | Mizhena | Trans woman | Mizhena is a transgender woman who explains to the main character that she picked her strange name after transitioning. The character, among other aspects of the game's writing, was met with significant criticism. Beamdog later announced that they would be expanding the character's story a week after the expansion pack released, saying in part, "In retrospect, it would have been better served if we had introduced a transgender character with more development."[14] | Beamdog | |
TBA | Baldur's Gate III | |||||
Borderlands | 2009 | Borderlands | Mad Moxxi | Bisexual | Mad Moxxi's appearances include Borderlands (2009) and Borderlands 2 (2012). She is a buxom bartender. In both games, she is very open about her bisexuality, referencing her many male and female lovers. | Gearbox Software |
2012 | Borderlands 2 | |||||
Tiny Tina | Bisexual or Pansexual | Tiny Tina confesses that she likes Maya and asks if she likes her in turn. It was confirmed by lead writer Anthony Burch on his ask.fm that she is lesbian and also that during production of the DLC Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage (2012), it was planned to depict Tiny Tina having a crush on Moxxi, but the dialogue concerning this was ultimately deleted before the DLC was released. In the 3rd game, Tiny Tina mentions her exes, which include male and female lovers.[15] | ||||
Axton | Bisexual | In the DLC Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep (2013), it is revealed that Axton, one of the playable characters, is bisexual. While his flirtatious lines with male characters were originally a coding error, Gearbox Studios decided to confirm his bisexuality with overt references in the DLC.[16] | ||||
Wildlife Exploitation Preserve couples | Lesbian, gay | There is an audio-log in the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve that mentions two same sex couples (1 gay couple, 1 lesbian couple) who were forced to run experiments on their partners. | ||||
Sir Hammerlock and Taggart | Gay | There is a sidequest given by Sir Hammerlock that involves finding his ex-boyfriend Taggart's audio logs on hunting for use in his almanac. | ||||
Mister Torgue High-Five Flexington | Bisexual | It is alluded in Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep that Mr. Torgue is bisexual. This was confirmed via an interview.[17] | ||||
2014 | Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel | Rose and Gabby | Lesbian | During the Recruitment Drive mission in the Triton area, a character named Rose talks about her ex Gabby. | 2K Australia, Gearbox Software | |
Athena and Janey Springs | Lesbian | In Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (2014) the playable character Athena and the supporting character Janey Springs are lesbian.[18][19] Janey repeatedly flirts with Athena, causing her to become embarrassed. Their relationship is confirmed later in a conversation where Athena implies that she "hit that" (referring to Janey) by giving a high five to Tiny Tina, even though Athena is initially defensive to talk about it. In the DLC Claptastic Voyage (2015), it is shown that Athena and Janey moved together to Hollow Point, a subterranean city on Pandora.
In the episodic adventure game Tales from the Borderlands (2014), Athena and Janey are in a relationship. Depending on the player's choices, a scene may be available where Janey kisses Athena on the cheek and refers to her as her girlfriend. Later in the game, there is an unmissable scene where Athena is interrupted by a call from Janey, once again referring to her as her girlfriend. | ||||
2014 | Tales from the Borderlands | Telltale Games | ||||
2019 | Borderlands 3 | FL4K, Wainwright Jakobs | Non-Binary, gay | FL4K is shown to use gender-neutral pronouns, and has a pin on the collar of their coat that had bits of binary crossed out as well as the Non-Binary flag colors, referencing their gender identity.[20]
The DLC pack Guns, Love, and Tentacles is about the marriage of Sir Hammerlock and Wainwright Jakobs.[21] |
Gearbox Software | |
Darkstalkers, Marvel vs. Capcom, and others |
1994 | First appearance: Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors |
Morrigan Aensland | Bisexual | Morrigan is bisexual.[2] She is a recurring character in the Darkstalkers and Marvel vs. Capcom fighting game series. | Capcom |
— | See also Morrigan Aensland § Appearances. | — | ||||
Destiny | 2014 | Destiny | Osiris Saint-14 |
Gay | Game designer Robert Brooke wrote the two characters as in a romantic relationship from their introduction but had been vague about it, but only made it more explicit with ongoing updates to Destiny 2 in 2020.[22] | Bungie |
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth | 2015 | Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth | Fei Wong Tomoe Ignacio | Lesbian | Fei is in love with Yuuko Kamashiro | Bandai |
2017 | Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's Memory | Yu Nogi | Gay | Yu is in love with Keisuke Amazawa | ||
Divinity | 2017 | Divinity: Original Sin 2 | Ifan Ben-Mezd
Red Prince Lohse Fane Beast Sebille Butter |
Pansexual/ Bisexual | All the origin characters can be romanced regardless of race or gender. Fane canonically had a wife but can be romanced by anyone, and Sebille claims that Lohse has a crush on her if you agree to let Sebille see Lohse's memories. Butter can be flirted with, with any character, and she will respond in kind. | Larian Studios |
Dragon Age | 2009 | Dragon Age: Origins | Warden | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | The Warden is the player character, who has the option to pursue a romance, or simply a sexual encounter, with four "companions", the people who accompany the player on their journey: Zevran Aranai and Leliana are openly bisexual and are available to players of both genders. Alistair and Morrigan are straight and thus available to players of the opposite gender. There are also opportunities to have sexual encounters with NPCs of the same gender throughout the game and notably within the first 30 minutes of game play. As with BioWare's other flagship title, Mass Effect, there are brief sex scenes (about 30 seconds); however there is no visible nudity. | BioWare |
Zevran Aranai and Leliana | Bisexual | |||||
Wade and Herren | Gay | The effeminate Wade and Herren have an armor shop that the player can visit. In a downloadable content episode released by BioWare it is possible to chase them from the shop to a back alley where Herren teleports himself and Wade to safety. The game designers confirmed Herren and Wade were lovers after the release of said DLC. | ||||
Hespith | Lesbian | Hespith is a lesbian dwarf character who admits to being a lover of Branka, party-character Oghren's ex-wife. | ||||
Branka | Bisexual | |||||
2011 | Dragon Age II | Hawke | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | Hawke, Champion of Kirkwall is the player character, who can be played either as a male or a female version. He or she can romance characters of either gender. | ||
Anders, Fenris, Isabela, and Merrill | Bisexual | Anders, Fenris, Isabela, and Merrill are four of Hawke's companions who express romantic interest without regard to Hawke's gender. | ||||
Male and female prostitutes | Bisexual | The player can sleep with male or female prostitutes regardless of Hawke's gender. The prostitute Serendipity, though intended by writer Mary Kirby to be a male crossdresser and not a transgender woman, was read by many players as the latter. BioWare received criticism for Serendipity's portrayal, which inspired more thoughtful creation of two new transgender characters in subsequent installments. | ||||
Serendipity | Bisexual | |||||
Cross-dresser or trans woman | ||||||
Zevran Arainai | Bisexual | Zevran Arainai, a bisexual character from the first game, makes a cameo appearance and propositions Hawke and/or Isabela. | ||||
Cyril | Bisexual | In the DLC Mark of the Assassin (2011), Hawke attends a hunting party hosted by Duke Prosper de Montfort of Orlais, and Hawke can flirt with the duke's son Cyril regardless of Hawke's gender. | ||||
2014 | Dragon Age: Inquisition | Inquisitor | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | The Inquisitor is the player character, who may romance other characters of the same gender. Unlike the previous games in the series, each romance option has a clearly defined sexual orientation. | ||
Sera and Dagna | Lesbian | Sera, a female elven archer, is gay and thus is only available as a romance option if the player picks a female character; the two of them can also get married in the DLC Trespasser (2015), the first confirmed same-gender marriage in the franchise. If Sera is not romanced she will enter a relationship with a female dwarf named Dagna. | ||||
Dorian Pavus | Gay | Dorian Pavus is a gay male mage who can be romanced by male player characters. Dorian's upbeat personality hides a dark family secret relating to his sexual orientation. The Iron Bull, a male qunari warrior is openly bisexual and can be romanced by male and female player characters. If neither Dorian nor Iron Bull are romanced then they can optionally enter a relationship. | ||||
Iron Bull | Pansexual[23] | |||||
Josephine Montiliyet | Bisexual | The Inquisition's chief diplomat, Josephine Montiliyet, is bisexual and can also be romanced by male and female player characters. | ||||
Lace Harding | Bisexual | An "unofficial" romance option for an Inquisitor of either gender is the dwarven scout Lace Harding, though her "romance" consists entirely of flirtatious dialogue with no additional cutscenes. | ||||
Cremisius Aclassi | Trans man[24] | |||||
Empress Celene of Orlais and Briala | Lesbian | Empress Celene of Orlais, whose potential assassination is a critical plot point in the game, was formerly in a relationship with her spymaster, the female elf Briala. While the two are separated (and at war) as of the events of the game, the Inquisitor can facilitate their reconciliation. Their relationship was originally documented in the tie-in novel Dragon Age: The Masked Empire. | ||||
Leliana | Bisexual | The game sees the return of the established bisexual character Leliana, although she is not a romance option. | ||||
Cyril de Montfort / Duke de Montfort | Bisexual | The bisexual character Cyril de Montfort also cameos as the new Duke de Montfort in the Trespasser DLC. | ||||
Other NPCs | Lesbian, Gay | Other NPCs encountered throughout the world are shown to be in same-gender relationships, such as Inquisition scout Ritts and the apostate mage Eldredda in the Hinterlands, Commander Jehan and Chevalier Fabienne in the Exalted Plains, and two unnamed Orlesian noblemen at the Winter Palace (one of whom accuses the other of flirting with Duke Cyril). | ||||
Historical figures | Various | Discoverable Codex entries reveal that certain historical figures were known to have been in same-gender relationships, including the "barbarian" Avvar matriarch Tyrdda Bright-Axe (subject of an epic poem in which her female elven lover plays a major role), and Arl Jacen Guerrin who built a villa in the Hinterlands for his lover, Ser Corram the Bard, centuries earlier. | ||||
Tie-in material characters | Various | Other characters who appear or are mentioned in-game have their sexual or gender identity addressed in tie-in material: The female elven spy Charter, who is depicted in the Dragon Age: Magekiller comic book in a relationship with a woman; also, Maevaris Tilani is a transgender woman who first appeared in the comic book Dragon Age: Those Who Speak as a cousin-by-marriage of Varric Tethras, while in the game she is mentioned as a friend and political ally of Dorian's, though she does not physically appear except in Dorian's epilogue slides at the end of the Trespasser DLC. | ||||
Drakengard | 2005 | Drakengard 2 | Yaha | Bisexual | Yaha is an enemy character. He got incredible beauty that can charm all men and women from his pact, in return of the loss of the "pleasure" of sex. He is in love with his male old friend, Urick, one of the playable characters. | Cavia |
2010 | Nier | Emil | Gay | Emil, a player companion, is hinted to have feelings for Nier. This was confirmed by director Yoko Taro in an interview, seen in the companion book Grimoir Nier. | ||
Kainé | Intersex | Kainé is intersex and identifies as a woman.[25] | ||||
2017 | Nier: Automata | 6O | Lesbian | 6O is a female android. At some point, she confesses her love to another female android and gets turned down. Later, she talks about it with 2B, another android. | PlatinumGames | |
16D and 11B | Lesbian | 16D is a female android. At some point, she reveals that she was in a relationship with her mentor 11B, another female android. | ||||
F–J
Series | Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes | Developer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fable | 2004 | Fable | Player character and NPC townspeople | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | In the Fable games, the player character can flirt, marry and/or have sex with NPC townspeople of the same sex.
In Fable (2004), if the player marries a female and a male NPC, the personality status screen labels them as bisexual. In same-sex marriages, the player does not get paid "dowry" for marrying any male characters but almost all females give such. One quest involves finding the deed to a bordello so the player can free the prostitutes from the male owner. Like the other quests in the game there are several ways of solving this, but one option is to dress as a woman and have sex with the owner when he's drunk. In Fable II (2008), there are more lesbian, gay, and bisexual NPC townspeople to court and marry. A context-specific line is used in a conversation within the middle of the game, wherein Hammer asks if the protagonist was able to convince their partner, wife, or husband to wait for them when they must go away for ten years. The game also includes a quest in which the player character finds a suitable partner for a farmer's son who hints at being gay. The farmer is surprised but accepts that his son is gay and was unable to find an acceptable partner because the father had previously presented him only with female suitors. Reaver, the NPC known as the Hero of Skill, is bisexual, known to have simultaneous lovers named Ursula, Penelope, and Andrew. In Fable III (2010), once again there are more lesbian, gay, and bisexual NPC townspeople to court and marry. Reaver returns, this time inviting the hero (of either sex) to have a 'private party' in his bedchamber (though the player cannot accept this invitation). |
Big Blue Box Studios |
2008 | Fable II | Lionhead Studios | ||||
2010 | Fable III | |||||
Fallout | 1998 | Fallout 2 | Miria and Davin | Bisexual | This game features the first same-sex marriage in a game.[26][27][28] Miria and Davin are siblings. The player may have sex with and marry one of them, regardless of their gender. | Black Isle Studios |
2008 | Fallout 3 | Nova | Bisexual | Player characters, regardless of gender, can employ the services of a female prostitute named Nova in the city of Megaton. | Bethesda Game Studios | |
Carol and Greta | Lesbian | In the city called Underworld, the player meets a female Ghoul named Carol who is suggested to be in a romantic relationship with another female Ghoul named Greta. They have apparently adopted a son, named Gob. While it is never made clear if they are romantically involved, if the player is a Female, Greta will jealously warn the player to stay away from Carol. | ||||
Flak and Shrapnel | Gay | In Rivet City, the player meets Flak and Shrapnel, a pair of weapons dealers whom the game identifies as "partners." The two run a shop together and share a single bed. It's only implied that the nature of their relationship is romantic. An NPC from another city refers to Flak as an "old queen." | ||||
2010 | Fallout: New Vegas | Courier | Gay, lesbian, or bisexual (optional) | The main character, the unnamed Courier, can be chosen as male, with the perk (character trait) Confirmed Bachelor, giving him several advantages with other gay male NPCs (and, following the stereotype of gay people as more understanding and perceptive about emotions, grant him the ability to better understand the plight of the otherwise mute companion Christine). This perk has a female equivalent, the Cherchez la femme perk.. Additionally, the male Courier can pick both Lady Killer (the "straight" perk) and Confirmed Bachelor, making them optionally bisexual, as with the female Courier with Black Widow and Cherchez la femme. | Obsidian Entertainment | |
Veronica Santangelo | Lesbian | Veronica Santangelo is a young Scribe from the Brotherhood of Steel, who confesses to the main character to have nursed a crush for another girl in the Brotherhood (hinted to be Christine Royce, another joinable NPC, mute and enslaved, who references having been in a relationship with a girl in her Brotherhood days) which ended badly because of the disapproval of her girlfriend's parents. | ||||
Arcade Gannon | Gay | Arcade Gannon, a doctor with the Followers of the Apocalypse is openly gay, discussing his orientation if certain dialog paths are chosen. | ||||
Rose of Sharon Cassidy | Bisexual | If the player plays as a female Courier with the Cherchez la Femme perk, Rose of Sharon will simply state that when she's drunk enough she doesn't care about who she gets in bed with, and drops the dialog abruptly. | ||||
Corporal Betsy | Lesbian | Another NPC, Corporal Betsy, a sharpshooter for the NCR, is openly gay and will flirt with a female Courier that has high enough charisma. With the Cherchez la Femme perk the Courier can acknowledge her advances, however ultimately nothing comes out of the conversation. | ||||
2015 | Fallout 4 | Sole Survivor | Straight or bisexual | The player character, "Sole Survivor", starts off in a relationship with a wife (if the player chooses to be male) or a husband (if the player chooses to be female). Showing the primary character is at least straight, however, the "Sole Survivor" can romance their companions, regardless of their sex.[29] | Bethesda Game Studios | |
Final Fantasy | 1999 | Final Fantasy VIII | An unnamed minor character | Trans woman | An unnamed minor character can be encountered in a bar; during conversation, there is strong implication the character is transgender. The player character Squall Leonhart is given the option to ask if she is really a woman. If Squall asks this the character becomes paranoid and wonders how he knew. In the French version, the antagonist Adel is described as being intersex, with other characters using both pronouns to refer to them. | Square |
Adel | Intersex (French version) | |||||
2000 | Final Fantasy IX | Quina Quen | Non-binary | Quina Quen is a playable character who belongs to a genderless race called the Qu. Referred to by the pronoun "s/he" throughout, the Qu's bizarre appearance offers little clue as to any intended orientation.[30] | ||
Final Fight and Street Fighter | 1989 | Final Fight | Poison | Trans woman | Poison is introduced in Final Fight (1989), where she is either a pre-op or post-op trans woman, depending on the region where the game was released.[31][32][33][34][35]
She is an antagonistic NPC in the arcade beat 'em up games Final Fight (1989) and Mighty Final Fight (1993). She is a playable character in the fighting games Final Fight Revenge (1999), Street Fighter X Tekken (2012), Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014) & Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition (2018).[36] In Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, her identity is alluded to more often. Certain dialogue during a conversation with Lucia alludes to the fact that she was born with a gender not matching with her inner being.[36][37] One of Poison's win quotes, "Being gossiped about is proof of my popularity!" seemingly alludes to the controversy and ambiguity surrounding her gender identity.[38][39][40][41] |
Capcom |
1993 | Mighty Final Fight | |||||
1999 | Final Fight Revenge | Capcom USA | ||||
2012 | Street Fighter X Tekken | Dimps, Capcom QLoc (PC) Sucker Punch Productions (PS Vita) | ||||
2014 | Ultra Street Fighter IV | Capcom | ||||
2018 | Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition | |||||
Fire Emblem | 2007 | Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn | Heather | Lesbian | Heather is a character that the player can get on their team. She is implied to be a lesbian and claims to have joined the army to 'meet all the pretty girls'. | Nintendo SPD, Intelligent Systems |
2015 | Fire Emblem Fates | Corrin (player character), Niles and Rhajat | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | This game is the first in the Fire Emblem franchise to feature a same-sex marriage option for both the 'Birthright' and 'Conquest' versions of the game (Niles and Rhajat in the American version).[42] The same sex options, however, are restricted to one character per game, where the Conquest edition contains a man who may be romanced by male or female main characters, while the Birthright edition has a woman who may be romanced by male and female protagonists. In the DLC, Revelations, both Rhajat and Niles are available to be romanced by the female and male main characters. However, they can still marry characters of the other gender so it is implied they are bisexual. If the player marries a character of the same sex, they will not be able to unlock Kana (the player's child) or Nina, Niles' daughter.[43] | ||
2017 | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia | Leon | Gay | Leon asks Kamui if he wants to be hit on by Leon. Leon then states that Kamui is not his type and confesses his love to another male comrade, Valbar. | Intelligent Systems | |
2019 | Fire Emblem: Three Houses | Byleth (player character), Edelgard, Dorothea, Mercedes, Linhardt, Jeritza, Rhea, Sothis, Yuri, Petra, Caspar, Manuela, Catherine, Shamir | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | Edelgard, Jeritza, Dorothea, Yuri, Rhea, Sothis, Linhardt, and Mercedes can be romanced by the player character regardless of gender during certain routes.[44][45]
Also in Edelgard and Dorothea support, they were seen to be slightly romancing each other in their A support: "When the two of us are together, talking like this... Somehow I don't feel like I care about my troubles with love anymore." Although they cannot be in a lesbian/gay relationship with Byleth, the characters Caspar, Petra, and Manuela have endings where they are married or in a relationship with other characters of the same sex. Shamir proposes to Catherine during their support cutscenes. |
Intelligent Systems, Koei Tecmo | |
Five Nights at Freddy's | 2014 | Five Nights at Freddy's 2 | Mangle | Genderqueer | While Mangle is referred to as "he" by the Phone Guy, one of the Custom Night Challenges, titled "Ladies Night," includes Toy Chica, Withered Chica, and Mangle.[46] However, the term "Ladies Night" is used to refer to a night when special discounts are available to women, not when men are absent. It is also possible that Scott Cawthon added Mangle to the challenge for balance (as there would have only been two animatronics present). As such, Mangle's "true gender" remains disputed. In 2015, Scott Cawthon jokingly stated that the answer to whether Mangle is male or female is "yes".[47] Since then, Mangle has used both pronounces "he" and "she".[48] | Scott Cawthon |
2015 | Five Nights at Freddy's 3 | |||||
2015 | Five Nights at Freddy's 4 | |||||
2019 | Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted | |||||
Grand Theft Auto | 2001 | Grand Theft Auto III | Construction workers | Gay | There are construction workers who look like the similarly dressed member of the Village People, who shout quotes from the songs "Y.M.C.A." and "In the Navy". | DMA Design |
Asuka and Maria | Lesbian | Asuka and Maria are lovers. | ||||
2004 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Police officers | Gay | The police officers in San Fierro will say various things one would expect from a comically stereotyped gay character such as "Drop the soap, honey!", "Lets wrestle to submission!", and "I'm on your ass, Daisy!" In this model, homosexuality is a joke, attached to gender inversion and used to make fun of the police, an enemy in the game. | Rockstar North | |
Store employee | Gay | There is a clearly gay employee working at the counter of an athletic apparel store who makes flirty comments toward the protagonist, CJ. | ||||
2005 | Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories | Reni Wassulmaier | Genderqueer | Reni Wassulmaier is an adult film director. She is assigned female at birth. She undergoes four sex surgeries: female-to-male, then male-to-female, then female-to-male again, then male-to-female again. She is introduced in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005), as a female radio DJ. In between songs, she drops hints about previously being male. In the prequel Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006), set 14 years before, she already had the first three sex changes and the objective for one mission, titled "So Long Schlong", is to take Reni to the hospital for her fourth sex change. | Rockstar Leeds, Rockstar North | |
2006 | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories | |||||
2008 | Grand Theft Auto IV | Bernie Crane | Gay | Bernie Crane, formerly Florijan Kravić, (Serbian Cyrillic: Флоријан Кравић), a flamboyant gay lifestyle coach and friend of the protagonist, Niko Bellic. He is one of three survivors of Niko's fifteen man squad who fought in the Bosnian War. | Rockstar North | |
2009 | Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony | Anthony "Gay Tony" Prince | Gay | In this episode expansion pack of Grand Theft Auto IV (2008), the title character is gay, and a friend of the protagonist, Luis Lopez. He also features in a cameo in GTA IV. | ||
2013 | Grand Theft Auto V | Trevor Philips | Bisexual | Trevor Philips is a playable character in Grand Theft Auto V, unlocked after the mission Mr. Philips. In a conversation during an outing with Michael and Franklin, he admits he's bisexual after Franklin asked him whether he's gay or not. He also claims to have raped men in prison. | ||
Heileen | 2008 | Heileen: Sail Away | Heileen | Potentially lesbian or bisexual | Heileen is the female protagonist. She has one male and two female romantic possibilities: John, Lora and Marie. | Tycoon Games |
Lora and Marie | Lesbian | |||||
Heileen 3: New Horizons | Heileen | Potentially lesbian or bisexual | There are four male romantic possibilities: John from Heileen: Sail Away (2008), Morgan, Jonathan and Sebastian; and four female: Marie and Lora from Heileen: Sail Away (2008), Ebele and Juliet from Heileen: Sail Away (2008). | |||
Marie, Lora, Ebele and Juliet | Lesbian | |||||
The Last of Us | 2013 | The Last of Us | Bill and Frank | Gay | Bill is a character who helps Joel and Ellie during their journey. It is heavily implied he is gay and had a partner named Frank, who is later found dead, much to Bill's dismay. A note left by Frank claims he did not love Bill anymore.[49] | Naughty Dog |
Ellie and Riley Abel | Lesbian | In The Last of Us (2013), Ellie is one of the main characters and Riley is sometimes mentioned. In the DLC prequel The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014), players control Ellie as she spends time with Riley, and it is implied Ellie has feelings for Riley, culminating in a kiss between them near the climax. The developers Naughty Dog later confirmed they have romantic feelings for each other and the writer for Ellie's character, Neil Druckmann, said he wrote her to be gay.[50] | ||||
2014 | The Last of Us: Left Behind | |||||
2020 | The Last of Us Part II | Ellie and Dina | Lesbian and bisexual | Ellie is one of the main characters and she is in a relationship with a woman named Dina. At the start of the game, it was revealed that Dina formerly dated Jesse.[51] | ||
Lev | Trans man | Lev (formerly Lily) is a trans boy and former member of an antagonist faction who one of the main characters, Abby, meets and is scheduled to be executed. The two become friends through a series of mutual trials. |
K–N
Series | Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes | Developer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Legend of Korra | 2014 | The Legend of Korra | Korra | Bisexual | These video games are based on the animated television series The Legend of Korra. Though her sexuality is not referenced in the games, the protagonist, Korra, is bisexual.[52] | PlatinumGames |
2014 | The Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins | Webfoot Technologies | ||||
League of Legends | 2009 | League of Legends | Neeko (2018)[53] | Lesbian | Riot Games | |
Varus (2019)[54] | Gay | |||||
Life Is Strange | 2015 | Life Is Strange | Maxine "Max" Caulfield | Bisexual | Life Is Strange (2015) is experienced from Max's perspective. The prequel Life Is Strange: Before the Storm (2017) is experienced from Chloe's perspective.
The development of Max and Chloe's relationship is the main plot of Life Is Strange (2015), and they can end up romantically. At different points in the game, Max may have the choice to kiss her male friend, Warren (who has a crush on Max) and/or Chloe.[55] In Life Is Strange (2015), Chloe admits that she had romantic feelings towards Rachel. In the prequel Life Is Strange: Before the Storm (2017), depending on the player's actions, Rachel may open up and reveal that she has romantic feelings towards Chloe too. At some point, Chloe may have the choice to kiss Rachel. Chloe also has condoms in her wallet, and had previously made references to dating her male friend, Elliot. She also writes in her journal about “rubbing one” to the character Deckard from the Blade Runner series. |
Dontnod Entertainment |
Chloe Price and Rachel Amber | Bisexual | |||||
2017 | Life Is Strange: Before the Storm | Deck Nine | ||||
Steph Gingrich | Lesbian | Steph has a crush on Rachel and can mention it to Chloe in episode 2. Her voice actress, Katy Bentz, later confirmed during a Reddit AMA that Steph is a lesbian.[56] | ||||
2018 | Life Is Strange 2 | Sean Diaz | Bisexual | Sean's crush on a female classmate, Jenn, is mentioned at various points in the game. He can later choose to admit that he finds some boys cute, and has the option of pursuing a romantic relationship with either Cassidy or Finn. Sean can later come out to his father in a dream sequence if he kissed Finn. | Dontnod Entertainment | |
Finnegan "Finn" McNamara and Cassidy | Pansexual, Pansexual or Bisexual | During episode 3, Sean finds out that Finn is sleeping with Hannah, although both explain that there is not a romantic connection between them. Finn openly flirts with Sean and Sean has the option to kiss him later in the episode. When asked by Sean if he considers himself bisexual, Finn responds that he doesn't see gender and is attracted to people. Cassidy openly flirts with the group, including men and women, and uses gender neutral terms for her lovers from the past. The two are featured in the Life is Strange pride post including their LGBT characters.[57] | ||||
Jacob "Jake" Hackerman | Gay | During Episode 3, Jake is met by Sean and Daniel Diaz at a campsite in Humboldt County, California. It is later revealed in Episode 4 that he is gay, and his old community had been putting him through gay conversion therapy, before subsequently kicking him out. | ||||
Penny | Gay or Bisexual | Penny mentions the disappearance of Arthur "Jinx" Lee, a man he met and fell in love with. | ||||
Arthur and Stanley Petersen | Gay | Arthur and Stanley are a married couple who Sean and Daniel meet in episode 5. | ||||
The Longest Journey | 1999 | The Longest Journey | Fiona and Mickey | Lesbian | This computer game features Fiona and Mickey, a lesbian landlady and her long-time lover. The game also features and a gay cop. While the game used a futuristic Blade Runner type setting, the gay characters are not used to show how decadent society had become,but are seen as normal and well adjusted secondary characters.[30] | Funcom |
A cop | Gay | |||||
2014 | Dreamfall Chapters | Kian Alvane | Gay | Kian Alvane, one of the main protagonists, is gay.[58] | Red Thread Games, Blink Studios | |
Likho | Gay | Likho, a Resistance member, can reveal to Kian that he too is gay but would be ostracized if his family ever found out, if "an intimate moment" between them is unlocked. | ||||
Hanna and Abby | Lesbian | Hanna and Abby are a lesbian couple. | ||||
Mario | 1985 | Super Mario Bros. | Toad | Agender | In a 2014 interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, he revealed that Toads were designed without a specific gender in mind.[59] Nintendo director Koichi Hayashida who produced Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, explained that the appearance of a Toad does not represent his gender, stating that it has never been decided what gender could be associated with any Toad.[60] He clarifies later that the gender of the Toads will remain a mystery.[61][62] | Nintendo |
1988 | Super Mario Bros. 2 | Birdo | Trans woman | In the first-edition manual for the North American release of this NES game, Birdo is referred to as a "male who believes that he is a female" and would rather be called "Birdetta", making her the first transgender character for Nintendo.[63][64] In Japan, Birdo is referred as "Catherine" with the exact same transgender portrayal.[65] In this version, three "Super Catherines" were also voiced by gay men and transgender women.[66]
In later printings, mention of Birdo being male was omitted, and further not included in most later games with the character.[67] However, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008), Birdo's gender is referred as indeterminate. Her identity was only further explored in the Wii Japan-only video game Captain Rainbow (2008), which delves into her gender and how she was imprisoned for using the woman's bathroom, with her asking the player to find proof of her being female so she could be set free.[68] | ||
2004 | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door | Vivian | Trans woman | In this GameCube title, the player encounters a Shadow Siren named Vivian. In the Japanese version of the game, Vivian is heavily implied to be a transgender girl. Other characters, as well as narrative text, describe Vivian using masculine terms such as otoko "man", and otōto "little brother".[69][70] However, Vivian initially describes the shadow sirens as san shimai "three sisters", and routinely uses the feminine first person pronoun. This continues in Super Paper Mario (2007); Vivian's catch card describes her using the term otoko no ko "boy".[71] In the English and German localizations of the game, all masculine descriptions of Vivian are removed, and she is referred to with exclusively female pronouns. However, all other localized versions of the game explicitly retain the transgender portrayal.[72][73][74][75] | Intelligent Systems | |
Marvel Comics | 2011 | X-Men: Destiny | Northstar | Gay | Northstar, a gay superhero from the X-Men comics appears as a NPC in the games X-Men: Destiny (2011) and Marvel Heroes (2013). | Silicon Knights |
2013 | Marvel Heroes | Gazillion Entertainment, Secret Identity Studios | ||||
Wiccan | Gay member of the Young Avengers who appears as an alternate costume for Scarlet Witch | |||||
Mass Effect | — | Multiple games | Commander Shepard | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | Commander Shepard is the player character in Mass Effect (2007), Mass Effect 2 (2010) and Mass Effect 3 (2012). The player may choose to play as either male or female and customize their appearance and first name. In all three games, there are opposite-sex and same-sex relationship options for the player character. | — |
Multiple characters | Various | In all games, there is no indication that same-sex relationships are considered in any way unusual in the galaxy in general, particularly given the authority of the asari, the all-female alien race who is capable of reproducing with any gender of any species. | ||||
2007 | Mass Effect | Dr. Liara T'Soni | Bisexual | Dr. Liara T'Soni is an asari. There is an option for a subplot romance and sexual encounter with her, regardless of the gender of Commander Shepard, the player character. . | BioWare | |
2010 | Mass Effect 2 | Kelly Chambers, Samara and Morinth | Bisexual | Commander Shepard, regardless of their own gender, is able to romance Kelly, Samara and Morinth. Kelly is Commander Shepard's yeoman. Samara and Morinth are asari. Morinth is Samara's daughter. | ||
2012 | Mass Effect 3 | Kaidan Alenko, Kelly Chambers, and Diana Allers, Liara T'Soni and Samara | Bisexual | Three humans (Kaidan Alenko, Kelly Chambers and Diana Allers), and two asari (Liara T'Soni and Samara) express romantic interest in the player character Shepard, regardless of their gender. Specialist Samantha Traynor and Lieutenant Steve Cortez are only interested in Shepard if they are of the same gender. Cortez's personal storyline revolves around moving past the relatively recent loss of his husband. | ||
Samantha Traynor | Lesbian | |||||
Steve Cortez and his late husband | Gay | |||||
2017 | Mass Effect: Andromeda | Pathfinder Ryder | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | Pathfinder Ryder is the player character in Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017). Much like Commander Shepard from previous games, the player may choose to play as either male or female and customize their appearance and first name. The player chooses from a pair of twins: one male and one female. The non-selected twin is called either Scott or Sara Ryder and has a significant presence in the game. There are opposite-sex and same-sex relationship options for the player character. | ||
Pelessaria "Peebee" B'Sayle, Vetra Nyx, Reyes Vidal and Jaal Ama Darav | Bisexual | Pathfinder Ryder is able to romance these characters, regardless of their gender: the asari Peebee and Keri, the female turian Vetra and the male angara Jaal. Jaal was made bisexual following a post release patch after community feedback, and is notable for being the first male LGBT squadmate in the franchise. A female Pathfinder Ryder can also have a lesbian relationship with the ship's science officer Dr. Suvi Anwar and a male Pathfinder Ryder can have a gay relationship with the ship's engineer Gil Brodie. | ||||
Suvi Anwar | Lesbian | |||||
Gil Brodie | Gay | |||||
Hainly Abrams | Trans woman | Hainly Abrams leads scientific research on one of the Andromeda Initiative's outposts. When the game initially released, Abrams would readily inform the player that she is transgender and the masculine name she was given at birth. She tells the player that she left the Milky Way galaxy searching for greater acceptance of her gender identity. The abruptness with which she shares this information received criticism from fans, and the game was later patched so that Abrams would only reveal this information if the player developed a supportive relationship with her.[76] | ||||
Megami Tensei and Persona | 1997 | Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers | Kamanari | Cross-dresser | This Sega Saturn title (also released on PS1 and 3DS) depicts the protagonist encountering a cross dresser by the name of Kamanari while chasing down the gambling parlor owner Tatsumi during a case. | Atlus |
Beta | Gay | While being stereotypical and over-the-top, Beta (one of the owners of the EL-115 Club) hits on the main character, saying he wouldn't help him if he wasn't "cute". | ||||
1999 | Persona 2: Innocent Sin | Kurosu Jun | Gay | Jun is a feminine boy whose portrayal borrows heavily from Japanese Yaoi culture. The player can choose to have Tatsuya and Jun enter a relationship.[25] | ||
Tatsuya Suou | Bisexual | |||||
Sumaru Genie | Intersex | Sumaru Genie is an intersex fortuneteller. | ||||
2000 | Persona 2: Eternal Punishment | Jun Kashihara | Gay | Jun and Tatsuya from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (1999) reappeared in this game. With Jun having a minor role.[25] | ||
Tatsuya Suou | Bisexual | |||||
Anna and Noriko | Lesbian | Anna is a female athlete whose relationship with her obsessive admirer Noriko contains lesbian overtones. | ||||
Sumaru Genie | Intersex | Sumaru Genie, the intersex fortuneteller from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (1999), appears in this game as well. | ||||
2003 | Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne | A mannequin | Ambiguous | A flamboyant mannequin is shown as the owner of the junk shop and makes frequent but comical references to his sexuality. | ||
2006 | Persona 3 | Unnamed lesbian NPC | Lesbian | There is an unnamed female student NPC who has an intense lesbian crush on Mitsuru Kirijo, one of the main female characters. This crush goes as far as her having romantic fantasies about Mitsuru as well as threatening the main character with revenge if they're lying having pictures of Mitsuru in a bathing suit. | ||
Unnamed trans woman NPC | Trans woman | During "Operation Babe Hunt" one of the NPCs that Junpei, Akihiko and the main character attempt to hit on is revealed to be a trans woman. | ||||
2009 | Persona 3 Portable | Aigis | Bisexual | Aigis shows romantic interest in both the male and female protagonists of the game. Her social link remains unchanged regardless of the gender the player chooses. | ||
Ryoji Mochizuki | Bisexual | During his social link, Ryoji states he would still love the protagonist, no matter if they were a male or female. | ||||
2008 | Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon | Binbogami and Yakbyougami | Ambiguous | The main character, Raidou, confronts two Japanese disaster gods known as Binbogami and Yakbyougami who are both portrayed as effeminate and fiercely masochistic. Binbogami is shown to be pursuing Raidou sexually, even going so far as to encourage Raidou to 'whip' him when his life bar is reduced to half during two boss fights against him. | ||
2008 | Persona 4 | Kanji Tatsumi | Bisexual | Kanji Tatsumi,[30] a playable character, expresses interest in another boy (a cross dressing Naoto) and is shocked and confused about his own feelings towards him. At a later point, his Shadow Self manifests as an overly masculine and flamboyant gay caricature that rants about how he hates girls and likes boys and teases him about being gay. In actuality, Kanji fears being rejected by either sex. He still expresses interest in Naoto after finding out her true gender, though at the end of his social link, he outright states that his shadow self and him are one and the same, strongly hinting at bisexuality. | ||
Metal Gear | 2001 | Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | Vamp and Scott Dolph | Bisexual | It is revealed in a conversation, by Solid Snake himself, that Vamp is bisexual and that he was the lover of Scott Dolph, a bisexual Navy commander. | Konami |
2004 | Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater | Major Raikov and Volgin | Gay and bisexual | This game features male homo- and bisexuality (Major Raikov and Volgin, respectively). | ||
2010 | Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker | Dr. Strangelove | Bisexual | In this game we find a bisexual woman, with Dr. Strangelove being in love with The Boss. As her nickname implies, she had "a strange love". This is a reference to her sexuality. | ||
Nurse Love Addiction | 2011–15 | Nurse Love Addiction | Various girls | Lesbian | This is a yuri game centered around lesbian nursing school students.[77] | Kogado Studio |
R–Z
Series | Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes | Developer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Resident Evil | 2000 | Resident Evil Code: Veronica | Alfred Ashford | Cross-dresser | The central antagonist is Alfred Ashford who at the end of the game is revealed as a 'cross-dressing freak' who is obsessed with his dead twin sister, in this case a reference to Norman Bates from the Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho. | Capcom |
2003 | Resident Evil: Dead Aim | Morpheus D. Duvall | Genderqueer | Morpheus D. Duvall is obsessed with beauty and hints at having a number of gender-reassignment surgeries. Later in the game, he injects himself with a mutagenic virus that changes him into a feminine form, with notable breasts and high heels. | Cavia | |
Saints Row | 2008 | Saints Row 2 | Player character | Binary or non-binary; potentially bisexual | In Saints Row 2 (2008) and Saints Row: The Third (2011), the protagonist can be male or female; or non-binary by leaving gender signifiers open to either gender. The female player character has hints of bisexuality and that she has a sexual attraction to female characters Shaundi and Kinzie Kensington. | Volition |
2011 | Saints Row: The Third | |||||
2014 | Saints Row IV | Player character | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | The player character, which may be male or female, is able to romance all the companions in the Romance option, however in the Saints Row series the Caucasian female protagonist voiced by Katie Semine and Laura Bailey would appear to be bisexual as her dialogue shows that she is attracted to females and males, all other protagonists dialogue is heterosexual by default. However, all relationships are portrayed in a goofy, over-the-top manner, as is the nature of the game. | ||
Companions | Bisexual | |||||
2017 | Agents of Mayhem | Roderick "Hollywood" Stone | Pansexual | Hollywood is the first playable character. He is pansexual.[78] | ||
Stephanie "Friday" Albright and Janel Braddock | Lesbian | The team's coordinator, Friday, is in a relationship with the playable character Braddock. | ||||
Shadow Hearts | 2001 | Shadow Hearts | Meiyuan | Gay | Meiyuan is a gay Chinese acupuncturist. | Sacnoth |
2005 | Shadow Hearts: Covenant | Gerard Magimel and Pierre Magimel | Gay | Gerard and Pierre are two flamboyant brothers. Gerard is a tailor who sews magical clothes when bribed with "beefcake" trading cards and Pierre is a vendor for items and weapons. | Nautilus | |
Gay | In one optional scene toward the end of the game, a third major character is revealed to be gay. | |||||
2005 | Shadow Hearts: From the New World | Gerard Magimel and Buigen | Gay | This game features Gerard from Shadow Hearts: Covenant (2005). This time, he has a boyfriend named Buigen. | ||
The Sims | 2000 | The Sims | Sims | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | All Sims can be directed to fall in love with and engage in romantic interations with others Sims of either gender.
In 2001, Maxis broke new ground with a television commercial for The Sims (2000). Highlighting the ability of the characters to date, the commercial featured an attractive twenty-something man in a nightclub flirting with a woman, until he is suddenly drawn to an attractive man in the club and after a brief pause agrees to date him. Nintendo's Game Boy Advance and DS versions removed any same-sex romance interactions.[30] |
Maxis |
2004 | The Sims 2 | |||||
2009 | The Sims 3 | Maxis | ||||
2014 | The Sims 4 | |||||
South Park | 1999 | South Park Rally | Big Gay Al | Gay | This racing game is the first of several games based on the popular animated series South Park for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and PC. Big Gay Al, a prominent gay character in the series, is a playable character in South Park Rally. His house is also one of the tracks. | Tantalus Interactive |
2014 | South Park: The Stick of Truth | Various characters | Gay | This RPG game is based on the South Park TV series and contains many references to gay characters from that series. | Obsidian Entertainment | |
Mr. Slave | Gay | Mr. Slave is a gay character in South Park. In this game, he has a prominent role, being the subject of an early quest, then coming back to help the main protagonist during fights. The last quest of the main storyline also takes place in a part of Mr. Slave's anatomy. | ||||
2017 | South Park: The Fractured but Whole | Tweek and Craig | Gay | Tweek and Craig are two playable characters. Their gay relationship is not only part of the storyline but also gives them special abilities in combat when both characters are in the party, and is the subject of collectable Yaoi. | Ubisoft San Francisco | |
Star Wars | 2003 | Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic | Juhani and Belaya | Lesbian | The party member Juhani is lesbian, though bugged coding on the initial release allowed her to be attracted to the player character regardless of gender. In subsequent patches, she reverts to same-sex preferences. She and Belaya, another female Jedi were also heavily implied to be lovers. This would make Juhani the first known gay character in the Star Wars universe.[79] | BioWare |
2011 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | Theron Shan, Lana Beniko, Koth Vortena and Arcann | Bisexual | This game initially did not feature any same-sex romance or flirtation options. Such options were added in later patches after considerable backlash from fans, many of whom noted that the lack of diversity flew in the face of BioWare's previous record. The 2013 expansion Rise of the Hutt Cartel features a same-sex flirtation option for both factions (a lesbian for the Republic and a gay male for the Empire). 2014's Shadow of Revan introduces Republic agent Theron Shan and the Sith lord Lana Beniko, both of whom will react favorably to the advances of a player of either gender (and either faction). The 2015 expansion Knights of the Fallen Empire sees the return of Shan and Beniko, and introduces Koth Vortena; all three are fully realized romance options for characters male or female characters. All expansions have also featured background characters and flavor lore mentioning same-sex romances and even marriages. | ||
Story of Seasons | 2014 | Story of Seasons | Marian | Genderqueer | The androgynous male doctor Marian is often addressed with female pronouns and refers to herself as "big sister". | Marvelous AQL |
2019 | Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town | Player Character | Potentially Gay, Bi, or Lesbian | The player character can be either male or female and can go after any of the available bachelors or bachelorettes in town. In the western release of the game the same-sex "best friend" romance system has been changed to "marriage." | Marvelous | |
Bachelors, Bachelorettes | Potentially Gay, Bi, or Lesbian | |||||
Summon Night | 2003 | Summon Night: Swordcraft Story | Pratty, Sugar, Razzy and Sanary | Lesbian | Pratty is the female playable character. If the player chooses her and picks Sugar as their summon beast, lesbian innuendo occurs. There are other girls, named Razzy and Sanary who also share lesbian undertones when conversing with Pratty. | Flight-Plan |
2004 | Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2 | Aera Colthearts and Edgar Colthearts | Bisexual | Both the male and female playable characters, Aera and Edgar, show the same romantic behavior towards other characters, with some dialog changes. | ||
Lynn | Bisexual | One of the female characters, Lynn, continuously tries to kiss the main character, whether they are male or female. | ||||
Ultima | 1992 | Ultima VII: The Black Gate | Avatar | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | In the House of Baths at Buccaneer's Den, the player (the "Avatar") can pay for the services of male and female sex workers, regardless of the player's gender.[80] | Origin Systems |
Sex workers | Bisexual | |||||
1993 | Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle | A mage | Bisexual | A mage sexually proposes the player's character regardless of the character's gender.[30] The player is given the choice to accept or decline. | ||
Valkyria Chronicles | 2008 | Valkyria Chronicles | Dallas | Lesbian | Dallas is a female squad member whose profile states that she 'fancies women' and 'hates men'. Dallas has a crush on Alicia, the game's heroine, and her profile states that she became upset after Alicia's marriage until she became infatuated with another major character, Rosie. | Sega |
Ted | Bisexual | Ted is a bisexual squad member who has both the 'fancies women' and 'fancies men' potential abilities in his profile. | ||||
Jann | Gay | Jann is a male squad member named has strong feelings for muscular men, particularly Largo. He wears makeup, has an effeminate voice and is flirty toward men, including the player character who is his commanding officer. | ||||
The Walking Dead | 2013 | The Walking Dead: Season Two | Matthew and Walter | Gay | The second episode features Mathew and Walter, a gay couple.[81] | Telltale Games |
2016 | The Walking Dead: Michonne | Jonas and Zachary | Gay | Jonas and Zachary are a gay couple who first appeared in the first episode[82] | ||
Paige | Lesbian | Paige has feelings for her friend Samantha[83][84] | ||||
2018 | The Walking Dead: The Final Season | Clementine, Violet, Minerva, and James | Bisexual, lesbian and gay | James, Violet, and her ex-girlfriend Minerva first appear in the final season. Clementine, the player character, can choose to begin a relationship with Violet in the second episode. James is a former member of the Whisperers who can determinantly mention his ex-boyfriend to Clementine in the third episode. |
Individual games
1980s–1990s
Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes | Genre | Developer | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1980s | |||||||
1985 | Le crime du parking | Paco | Gay | The culprit in the murder mystery is revealed to be the tailor, Paco, who is gay and deals drugs.[85][86] | Interactive fiction | Froggy Software | France |
1985 | Le mur de Berlin va sauter | Carlus | Gay | The main antagonist and left-wing terrorist Carlos, who wants to blow up the Berlin Wall, is gay and a lot of the action is spent in gay nightclubs and public baths.[87] | Interactive fiction | Froggy Software | France |
1986 | Moonmist | Vivien Pentreath | Lesbian | In one of the possible storylines it is revealed that Vivien, a friend of Lord Jack, was in a relationship with his former fiancée Deirdre—before her apparent suicide—and was jealous that she chose Lord Jack over her.[88][30] | Interactive fiction | Infocom | United States |
Deirdre Hallam | Bisexual woman | ||||||
1988 | Caper in the Castro | Tracker McDyke | Lesbian | A murder mystery problem solving game for Apple Mac computers written in the HyperCard language, distributed on underground gay bulletin boards, starring the lesbian detective Tracker McDyke. C. M. Ralph, who wrote the game, later released a straightwashed version called "Murder on Main Street" and published by Heizer Software.[89][90] | Adventure game | C. M. Ralph | United States |
Tessy LaFemme | Gay/Drag Queen | ||||||
1989 | Circuit's Edge | Yasmin | Trans woman | The game features a transgender woman named Yasmin alleged to be the player character's former lover, and a gay man named Saied.[91][8] | Interactive fiction, role-playing | Westwood Studios | United States |
Saied | Gay | ||||||
1989 | Phantasy Star II | Usvestia | Gay | Usvestia teaches piano will teach the MUSIK piano technique needed to progress in the game more cheaply to male characters because they "look cute".[92] In the English version, he instead says "He looks smart," and the gender-based disparity is left unexplained.[93] | Role-playing | Sega | Japan |
1990s | |||||||
1990 | Rise of the Dragon | Patrons of the Pleasure Dome | Gay | In an establishment called the Pleasure Dome that caters to gay patrons, among other things. One of its patrons is a woman posing as a man posing as a woman.[30] | Graphic adventure, action-adventure | Sierra On-Line | United States |
1992 | The Dagger of Amon Ra | Two female lovers | Lesbian | This game features a woman from a small town who gets a job for a New York paper in the 1920s. Two of the women she meets are involved in a secret love affair.[30] | Adventure | Sierra On-Line | United States |
1992 | Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender | Rex Nebular | Genderqueer | The game requires the male hero to change his sex on a planet where women rule.[94] | Adventure | MicroProse | United States |
1993 | Dracula Unleashed | Alfred Horner | Gay | Alfred Horner is a gay man who co-owns a bookstore. This was the first time a gay character in a computer game was given a speaking role.[30] | Interactive movie | ICOM Simulations | United States |
1993 | Police Quest: Open Season | Bob Hickman | Gay | A gay bar is featured in the game. The player is a police officer trying to track down the murderer of his partner. His quest leads him to discover that his partner had a double life as a cross-dresser at a West Hollywood transgender bar.[30] | Adventure | Sierra On-Line | United States |
1993 | Return of the Phantom | Charles | Gay | Charles is portrayed as an effeminate theater director. He is one of the good guys that helps the playable character, a French inspector, solve the mystery of the Phantom of the Opera once and for all.[95] | Adventure | MicroProse | United States |
1994 | Streets of Rage 3 | Ash | Gay | Ash acts as a boss in the game and portrayed with "tight clothes and effeminate movements".[95] He was censored in some versions of the game.[96] | Beat 'em up | Sega | Japan |
1994 | EarthBound | Tony | Gay | Tony who has subtle attractions to his best friend Jeff, according to EarthBound creator, Shigesato Itoi.[97] | Role-playing | Nintendo | Japan |
1995 | The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery | Baron Von Glower | Gay | The antagonist Baron Von Glower pursues the protagonist Gabriel Knight sexually and eventually leads him to be turned into a werewolf.[30][94] | Interactive movie, point-and-click adventure | Sierra On Line | United States |
1995 | Chrono Trigger | Flea | Genderqueer | Flea, a major villain, is genderfluid and/or gender nonconforming.[30] Notably, Flea stated in a self-referential manner "Male or female, what difference does it make? Power is beautiful, and I've got the power."[94] | Role-playing | Square | Japan |
1995 | The Orion Conspiracy | Danny McCormack and his boyfriend | Gay | This is the first computer game to use the word homosexual. The main character, Devlin McCormack, lives on a space station where he investigates the murder of his son Danny McCormack and stops an alien invasion. His investigation leads him through the seedy, criminal underworld of the station, where he discovers that his son was homosexual by talking with his son's boyfriend.[30] | Adventure | Divide By Zero | United Kingdom |
1995 | True Love | Daisuke | Potentially bisexual | At the end of the game, the player character—default name is Daisuke—may attempt to start a relationship with any of the ten available girls, or with his best friend Kazuhiko as the only gay option. Depending on the choices taken and interactions experienced throughout the game, each girl and Kazuhiko may or may not be available for a relationship.[98] | Visual novel | Software House Parsley | Japan |
Kazuhiko Miyoshi | Gay | ||||||
1995 | Eternal Filena | Filena and Lila | Lesbian | [99][100] | Role-playing | Tokuma Shoten | Japan |
1996 | Bahamut Lagoon | Sendak | Gay | Sendak is an older wizard who at one point flirts with the male protagonist, Byuu. The player can choose to accept or reject these advances.[101] | Tactical role-playing | Square | Japan |
1996 | Blazing Dragons | A dragon knight and a court jester | Gay | A dragon knight is implied to be gay. Said knight wears drag with a court jester. One scene has him kissing another dragon knight off-screen.[2] | Adventure | Illusions Gaming Company | United States |
1996 | Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh | Curtis Craig | Bisexual man | Curtis is the game's protagonist. He is also close friend with his co-worker, Trevor, who is gay. Curtis admits to his psychiatrist that he has feelings for Trevor and might be bisexual, and the two almost kiss later in the game. Curtis is also shown as having relations with his girlfriend and a S&M domme. Creators of the game talked about the mature sexual themes in the game during a 1997 interview.[102] Curtis is the first playable non-heterosexual character in a video game.[103] | Interactive movie, point-and-click adventure | Sierra On-Line | United States |
Trevor Barnes | Gay | ||||||
1997 | The Last Express | Sophie de Bretheuil | Lesbian | This game has the player meeting two young adult girls named Sophie de Bretheuil and Rebecca Norton who are almost always in each other's company. While at first they appear to be merely close friends, reading the diary of Recbecca suggests they are lesbians, but there are no explicitly homosexual gestures beyond hand-holding.[104] | Adventure | Smoking Car Productions | United States |
Rebecca Norton | |||||||
1997 | SaGa Frontier | Asellus | Lesbian | Asellus, one of the main characters, was infused with mystical blood that causes her to be highly attractive to other women.[105][106] | Role-playing | Square | Japan |
1998 | Star Ocean: The Second Story | Claude C. Kenny | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | The player can choose to play as either Claude or Rena. They can have a friendship and romance level with each party member acquired. Ashton (a male party member) and Precis (a female party member) can go on a date with them, regardless of their gender.[30] | Action role-playing | tri-Ace Tose (PSP) |
Japan |
Rena Lanford | |||||||
Ashton Anchors | |||||||
Precis F. Neumann |
2000s
Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes | Genre | Developer | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000s | |||||||
2001 | RuneScape | Angof | Trans woman | Angof is a female character in "The Light Within", a quest released on 24 August 2015. At some point after the quest, the player can show her a wedding ring, prompting her to tell the player she was born male, but "corrected" herself to female once she could shapeshift.[107] | MMORPG | Jagex | United Kingdom |
2001 | Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix | Hana Tsu-Vachel | Bisexual woman | The player character Hana Tsu-Vachel is bisexual and in a relationship with her hacker; Rain Qin. The game's advertising heavily emphasized their relationship.[108] | Action-adventure | Kronos Digital Entertainment | United States |
Rain Qin | Lesbian | ||||||
2003 | Deus Ex: Invisible War | Mark Finley | Gay | One of the manners which the character can gain access to the apartment of Mark Finley, Seattle's Minister of Culture, is to flirt with him at Club Vox; he will give the character his key. This only works if the character is male.[109] | Action role-playing, first-person shooter, stealth | Ion Storm | United States |
Lionel | |||||||
2004 | The Temple of Elemental Evil | Bertram | Gay | This computer game has an optional storyline permitting a gay marriage. In the town of Nulb, a pirate named Bertram begins flirting with male characters in the party and offers a lifetime of love and happiness in exchange for his freedom.[110] | Role-playing, turn-based | Troika Games | United States |
2004 | Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines | Player character | Potentially lesbian or bisexual | The player can have sex with female prostitutes or Jeanette as either a man or a woman.[111] | Action role-playing | Troika Games | United States |
Jeanette Voerman | Bisexual woman | The female player character is able to have implied offscreen sexual relations with Jeanette, another female character.[111] | |||||
2005 | Togainu no Chi | Akira | Gay | Akira is the protagonist and is accused of murder, being sentenced to life imprisonment. He is offered the chance to leave prison but only if he goes to Toshiman and participates and wins in the battle game Igra. Depending on choices made throughout the story, he can enter into a relationship with many other men.[112][113] | Visual novel | Nitro+chiral | Japan |
Keisuke | Keisuke is Akira's best friend who follows him to Toshima and joins Igra to help him.[114][113] | ||||||
Rin | A light-hearted individual who teaches Akira how to participate in Igra.[114][113] | ||||||
Shiki | The strongest of Igra's fighters and Akira's "most iconic" love interest.[114] | ||||||
Motomi | A resident of Toshima, he doesn't take part in Igra but instead acts as an information broker.[114] | ||||||
2005 | Jade Empire | Last Spirit Monk | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | The player—the Last Spirit Monk—can choose to play as either male or female. The player, regardless of gender, can romance Sky (a male character) and Silk Fox (a female character). Only a male player can romance the female Dawn Star, but she can end up in a relationship with Silk Fox.[30] | Action-adventure | BioWare | Canada |
Sky | Bisexual man | ||||||
Silk Fox | Bisexual woman | ||||||
Dawn Star | |||||||
2005 | Fahrenheit | Tommy | Gay | This computer and console game includes a gay stock market follower named Tommy. One of the game's protagonists is good friends with him and Tommy's knowledge of the stock trade is essential in progressing in the game. If asked, he mentions that he's dating someone.[115] | Interactive movie, action-adventure | Quantic Dream | France |
2006 | Enchanted Arms | Makoto | Gay | Makoto is an openly gay male character.[116] | Role-playing | FromSoftware | Japan |
2006 | Baten Kaitos Origins | Guillo | Genderqueer | One of the three main characters, Guillo, speaks simultaneously with the voice of both a man and a woman.[117] | Role-playing | tri-Crescendo, Monolith Soft | Japan |
2006 | Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror | Mara Aramov | Lesbian | This game features a bonus mission showing the prequel's antagonist Mara Aramov and Dr. Elsa Weissinger having a secret love affair, where Stone sees the two embrace and kiss each other after conversation. The couple is killed by Agent Stone after Mara and Weissinger argue about Weissinger's affair with billionaire Mihai Niculescu. | Third-person shooter, stealth | Bend Studio | United States |
Dr. Elsa Weissinger | Bisexual woman | ||||||
2006 | Bully | James "Jimmy" Hopkins | Bisexual man | Jimmy is able to kiss both boys and girls.[118] In the Xbox version the player can unlock an achievement by kissing a boy twenty times.[119] | Action-adventure | Rockstar Vancouver | Canada |
2006 | Corpse Party: BloodCovered | Seiko Shinohara | Lesbian | Seiko is shown to have romantic feelings for her best friend, Naomi Nakashima.[120] | Survival horror, adventure, dōjin soft | Team GrisGris | Japan |
2007 | BioShock | Sander Cohen | Gay | The insane artist Sander Cohen is confirmed to be gay by the game's creative director Ken Levine.[121] | First-person shooter | 2K Boston, 2K Australia | Australia, United States |
2007 | Clive Barker's Jericho | Cassus Vicus | Bisexual man | The Ancient Roman Governor Cassus Vicus claims it had been a while since "tasting" both genders after becoming aroused while confronting the Jericho Squad. Vicus is portrayed as overly perverted and morbidly obese and is said to practice cannibalism, sadomasochism and "blood orgies".[122] | First-person shooter, survival horror | MercurySteam, Alchemic Productions | Spain |
Abigail Black | Lesbian | Lt. Abigail Black, a telekinetic sniper and playable character, is confirmed to be lesbian.[123] | |||||
2007 | Fatal Hearts | Player character | Bisexual | Lucy is one of the available love interests for the female player character. | Visual novel, otome game | Hanako Games | United Kingdom |
Lucy | Lesbian | ||||||
2008 | Violet | Violet | Bisexual | The player is either a man or woman and Violet is their girlfriend.[124] The player is freely able to change their gender and sex mid-game, which mostly only results in a few cosmetic changes in the dialogue. Violet serves as the game's narrator, but in fact the player character is only imagining how she would narrate. Upon gender-changing, Violet may react by saying, "I adore you either way." | Interactive fiction | Jeremy Freese | United States |
The player character | Potentially lesbian | ||||||
Julia | Bisexual | Julia is the player's ex-girlfriend, no matter whether the player is a straight man or a lesbian woman. The "Historic Pfister" is an unnamed character whose parents previously owned a hotel by that name. During the events of the game, Julia flirts and spends time with Historic Pfister. Whenever the player changes gender, Historic Pfister's gender changes as well to be the same as the player's. | |||||
Historic Pfister | Potentially lesbian |
2010–2014
Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes | Genre | Developer | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010–2014 | |||||||
2010 | Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game | Ramona Flowers | Bisexual woman | Like the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series, Ramona Flowers has seven evil exes: six ex-boyfriends and her lesbian ex-girlfriend Roxanne.[125] | Beat 'em up | Ubisoft Montreal | Canada |
Roxanne "Roxie" Richter | Lesbian | ||||||
Knives Chau | Bisexual woman | In the original graphic novel, Knives and Kim eventually get together after they became ex-girlfriends of Scott.[126] | |||||
Kim Pine | |||||||
Wallace Wells | Gay | Wallace is Scott's roommate appears in the game as both a background character and running an item shop. A downloadable content released in 2013 added him as a playable character.[127] | |||||
2010 | Dead Rising 2 | Crystal and Amber Bailey | Lesbian | It's hinted that two minor villains, twin sisters Crystal and Amber Bailey, are in an incestuous lesbian relationship.[128] | Survival horror, beat 'em up | Blue Castle Games | Canada |
2010 | A New Beginning | Duve and his boyfriend | Gay | Bent (one of two player characters, along with Fay) never made time for his family. He finds out that his son Duve is gay and frequently visits a gay hotel in Barcelona together with his boyfriend. | Point-and-click adventure | Daedalic Entertainment | Germany |
2011 | Catherine | Erica Anderson | Trans woman | Erica, the waitress at The Stray Sheep, is a trans woman.[129] | Puzzle-platform, adventure | Atlus | Japan |
2011 | don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story | Kendall Flowers | Lesbian | Kendall and Charlotte have recently broken up as of the start of the game.[130] | Visual novel | Love Conquers All Games | Canada |
Charlotte Grewal | |||||||
Akira Yamazaki | Gay | Akira and Nolan are a gay couple. Previously, Nolan dated a girl named Taylor Gibson.[131] | |||||
Nolan Striukas | Bisexual man | ||||||
2011 | Magical Diary: Horse Hall | Mary Sue | Potentially lesbian or bisexual | The player character, whose default name is Mary Sue, attends a school for wizards and can date male and female characters. | Visual novel | Hanako Games, Spiky Caterpillar | United Kingdom |
Ellen Middleton | Bisexual | Ellen comes from a non-magical family. She expresses interest in multiple male characters, but can also romance Mary. She is also a romance interest for the male protagonist Gary in the sequel. [132] | |||||
2011 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Player character | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | The player character can be male or female. There are various NPCs in the game who can be married regardless of gender.[133] | Action role-playing | Bethesda Game Studios | United States |
2012 | Analogue: A Hate Story | *Hyun-ae | Bisexual | *Hyun-ae is an AI that can confess her feeling to the player regardless of gender.[134] | Visual novel | Christine Love | United States |
2012 | Animal Crossing: New Leaf | Isabelle | Pansexual | Isabelle, the secretary to the town mayor, is hinted to be pansexual as indicated by an apparent crush on the player-character, regardless of gender.[135] | Social simulation | Nintendo | Japan |
2012 | Dragon's Dogma | The Arisen | Potentially lesbian, gay, or bisexual | The Arisen is the player character and can be played as male or female. Almost all the NPCs are available to be chosen as the player's love interest, regardless of the player's gender.[136] | Action role-playing, hack and slash | Capcom | Japan |
2012 | Dys4ia | The player character | Trans woman, Lesbian | In this autobiographical game, the player controls a character transitioning and undergoing hormone replacement therapy. Journalists for The Guardian and the Penny Arcade Report observed that the game featured observations of the politics and personal development of those experiencing gender dysphoria.[30] The girlfriend of the player character also has a major role in the game. | Abstract | Anna Anthropy | United States |
The girlfriend of the player character | Lesbian | ||||||
2012 | Guild Wars 2 | Caithe and Faolain | Lesbian | This game includes the sylvari race of plant-like humanoids who don't reproduce sexually. As such, they do not base their relationships upon reproduction, but rather love, sensuality, and finding beauty in one another.[137]
Caithe and Faolain are minor characters, two female sylvari in a lesbian relationship. Eladus and Dagdar are two young male sylvari in a gay relationship. The player is able to encounter and save Eladus and Dagdar from the Knight Bercilak the Green in an optional quest. |
MMORPG | ArenaNet | United States |
Eladus and Dagdar | Gay | ||||||
Kasmeer Meade and Marjory Delaqua | Lesbian | There is a relationship between the female NPCs Kasmeer and Marjory throughout the game, with both of them kissing during a cutscene in "The Battle for Lion's Arch". Their sexual relationship was confirmed by the developers in the installment The Origins of Madness (2014). | |||||
Sya | Trans woman | Sya is assigned male at birth. She used magic to aid in her transition.[138] | |||||
Noble, Merchant | Gay | One of the renown hearts (secondary missions) in the Domain of Vabbi asks for the player character to pair lonely singles using an affinity detector. Resulting couples can be gay. The player still has the choice not to help the gay couples to form. | |||||
2012 | Kindred Spirits on the Roof | A ghost couple and other couples | Lesbian | In the English release of this Japanese visual novel, the main character Toomi Yuna helps a female ghost couple, create other lesbian couples at her school. This game is notable for being the first erotic visual novel released on Steam not to be censored.[139] | Visual novel | Liar-soft | Japan |
2012 | The House in Fata Morgana | Michel | Trans Man, Intersex | Michel, one of the visual novel's main characters, was assigned female at birth and was named "Michelle". Upon recovering from an illness, his voice deepened and his shoulders broadened, making him appear male (barring his lack of male genitalia). He renamed himself "Michel"; while his brothers accepted his new identity, his mother was driven insane by denial and his father planned to have him executed. The developers, Novectacle, have stated that he is intersex, but he's never described as such in the game; as his story takes place in the late 1000s, other characters' knowledge on the matter is limited and his body is considered "cursed" by his mother. | Visual novel | Novectacle | Japan |
2012 | Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning | Fateless One | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | The player character, the Fateless One, may be male or female. He or she is able to marry two female characters: the Maid of Windemere is available in the main game and Sunhilda Lorelle is available in the DLC The Legend of Dead Kel (2012). | Action role-playing, hack and slash | 38 Studios, Big Huge Games | United States |
Maid of Windemere and Sunhilda Lorelle | Bisexual | ||||||
Female NPCs | Bisexual | Some female NPCs will hit on the player character regardless of the player's gender. | |||||
2012 | My Ex-Boyfriend the Space Tyrant | Tycho Minogue and most characters | Gay | The majority of characters, including the player character Tycho Minogue, are gay men. | Adventure | Up Multimedia | |
2012 | The Secret World | Sandy "Moose" Jansen | Gay | Moose is a male biker who yearns for male police officer Andy. | MMORPG | Funcom | Norway |
Two archeologists | Gay | There are two gay archeologists in Egypt. | |||||
Braga brothers | Bisexual | The Braga brothers are found in Transylvania. They hit on the player character regardless of their gender; | |||||
Lesbian | The game features an implied lesbian encounter should the player choose a female Dragon player at the start. | ||||||
Zaha | Lesbian | Zaha is a lesbian character. | |||||
Kaoru | Kaoru is transgender. | ||||||
2012 | Zombies, Run! | Jack Holden and Eugene Woods | Gay | There are two same-sex couples: Jack Holden and Eugene Woods, the hosts of Radio Abel, and Doctor Maxine Myers and Doctor Paula Cohen. | Fitness game | Six to Start | United Kingdom |
Maxine Myers and Paula Cohen[140] | Lesbian | ||||||
2013 | No, Thank You!!! | Various boys | Gay | [141] | Visual novel | Parade | Japan |
2013 | Gone Home | Samantha "Sam" Greenbriar and Yolanda "Lonnie" DeSoto | Lesbian | This is a lesbian coming of age story that centers around the protagonist's younger sister Samantha and her girlfriend Yolanda. | Adventure, exploration | Fullbright, Midnight City (console edition) |
United States |
2013 | Pokémon X and Y | Nova | Trans woman | Nova is a Pokémon Trainer found at the Battle Maison. She is a Beauty (おとなのおねえさん, Otona no Onee-san, lit. "Adult Miss"), an exclusively female trainer class, who states that she used to be a Black Belt (からておう, Karate Ō, lit. "Karate King"), an exclusively male trainer class.[142] In the Japanese version of the game, she explicitly credits her transformation to medical science, but this was cut from the English version.[143][144] | Role-playing | Game Freak | Japan |
2013 | Yousei | Aaron Vanich | Gay | Aaron is a gay character. | Visual novel | Sakevisual | United States |
2013 | This Is Where I Want To Die | The player character and his boyfriend | Gay | The protagonist is revealed to be a gay man who is attacked by two homophobic people, whilst out with his boyfriend. The message of the game is stopping homophobia. | Visual novel | Marcel Weyers | Germany |
2014 | Coming Out on Top | Player character | Gay | The gay protagonist, a university student, finds himself in romantic relationships and erotic situations with other men, which is often illustrated with explicit graphic images. | Visual novel, dating sim | Obscurasoft | United States |
2014 | Coming Out Simulator 2014 | Nicky Case | Bisexual | This is an autobiographical game about a teenage Nicky Case coming out as bisexual to his mother. Jack is his boyfriend.[145] | Interactive fiction | Nicky Case | Canada |
Jack | Gay | ||||||
2014 | Enola | Enola and Angelica | Lesbian | Enola, the main character, wants to help her traumatized girlfriend Angelica.[146] | Survival horror, adventure | The Domaginarium | El Salvador |
2014 | Queen's Gambit | Player character | Bisexual | The player character can romance Emily or one of three male characters.[147] | Visual novel | Voltage Entertainment USA | United States |
Emily Verma | Lesbian[148] | ||||||
2014 | Transistor | Grant and Asher Kendrall | Gay | Grant and Asher Kendrall are a married gay couple, two of the founding members of the Camerata which serves as the antagonist of the game. They are never interacted with in person, committing suicide together before the protagonist reaches them. | Action role-playing, turn-based tactics | Supergiant Games | United States |
Sybil Reisz | Lesbian | It is implied that the antagonist Sybil Reisz has romantic feelings towards Red (the female protagonist) which are not reciprocated. | |||||
2014 | To Kill a Black Swan | The Black Swan | Trans woman | In this game created for the 2014 Indie Game Development Contest, which is loosely based on To Kill a Mockingbird, a detective investigates in the murder of a transgender woman referred to as the Black Swan. | Visual novel | Marcel Weyers | Germany |
2015–2019
Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes | Genre | Developer | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Astoria: Fate's Kiss | Player character | Bisexual | The player character is bisexual woman[149] who can romance Medusa, Alex, or one of multiple male characters.[150] | Visual novel | Voltage Entertainment USA | United States |
Medusa | Lesbian | Medusa is a lesbian[149] and can enter into a relationship with the protagonist.[150] | |||||
Alex Cyprin | Queer, non-binary | Alex is the player character's boss, goes by "they / them" pronouns,[149] and can start a relationship with her.[151] | |||||
Might & Magic Heroes VII | Fahada and Djinn Khalida | Lesbian | In the Academy campaign, Tanis tells the story of Fahada the Wizard and her lover Djinn Khalida. In the story, Fahada the Wizard had to choose between Power and Love. The Circle of the Seven Cities does not approve of her activities in the bedchamber with a female lover. | Turn-based strategy | Limbic Entertainment | Germany | |
Mortal Kombat X | Kung Jin | Gay | In a conversation with Raiden, Kung Jin is afraid of the Shaolin not accepting him, with Raiden encouraging him that they "care only about what is in [his] heart. Not whom [his] heart desires." After speculation by fans of Kung Jin's sexuality, the game's cinematic director confirmed that the new kombatant is indeed gay.[152] | Fighting | NetherRealm Studios, High Voltage Software, QLOC | United States | |
2064: Read Only Memories | — | The game was made by the creators of GaymerX and features overarching themes that deal with discrimination, transhumanism, and the evolution of LGBTQ communities. | Graphic adventure | MidBoss | United States | ||
Gus Dunham and Majid | Gay | Gus and Majid are a gay couple. | |||||
Lexi Rivers and Alys' sister | Lesbian | Lexi is a lesbian cop who by the time of the game's narrative used to date the sister of Alys, the player character. | |||||
Julian "TOMCAT" Thomas | Non-binary | TOMCAT uses "they" as their pronoun. | |||||
Katelyn | Non-binary | Katelyn is non-binary. | |||||
Sympathy | Non-binary | Sympathy is a bearded non-binary woman. | |||||
Melody Flores and Nina James | Trans woman | Melody and Nina are two trans women. | |||||
Technobabylon | Max Lao | Trans woman | Max Lao, Regis' partner, is a woman eventually revealed to be transgender.[153] | Adventure | Technocrat Games | United Kingdom | |
Giel Van der Waal and his husband | Gay | There is an investigation into the deaths of Giel Van der Waal and his husband, a married gay couple.[153] | |||||
Nina Jeong and Imogen | Lesbian | Late in the game, it is shown that Nina Jeong and Imogen have been in a lesbian relationship.[153] | |||||
Undertale | Alphys | Bisexual | Alphys (a female reptilian monster scientist) and Undyne (a female fish-like monster warrior) are in love.[154] The events concerning the start of their relationship are shown in the Pacifist Route, where Undyne sends an unsigned letter inviting Alphys to a date. Before the final fight with Asriel Dreemurr, Alphys and Undyne almost kiss each other. In the end credits of this route, the two monster girls are seen together on the beach, and Undyne kisses Alphys on the cheek.
When Mettaton battles the player, he asks a series of questions, including: "Who does Dr. Alphys have a crush on?" This happens before Alphys and Undyne form a relationship. If the player replies either "Undyne" or "Asgore" (a male horned monster, the ruler of the Underground), Mettaton confirms that the answer is correct and further comments on Alphys' crush on either Undyne or Asgore. |
Role-playing | Toby Fox | United States | |
Undyne | Lesbian | ||||||
RG 01 | Gay | RG 01 and RG 02 are two male anthropomorphic armored royal guards: a rabbit and a dragon, respectively. It is possible to spare their lives in battle by allowing them to start a scene where RG 02 takes his shirt off and RG 01 reveals that he is attracted to him. However, if the player chooses to kill RG 02 before starting that scene, RG 01 says: "I never told him..." In the Genocide Route, their character description explicitly mentions that they are "two lovers". | |||||
RG 02 | |||||||
Frisk | Non-binary | Both Chara and Frisk have no gender and are exclusively referred to using gender-neutral pronouns. | |||||
Chara | |||||||
We Know the Devil | Venus | Trans woman | Venus is a trans girl. Her pronouns in the narration change from "he" to "she" as she comes to terms with her identity.[155] | Visual novel | Date Nighto | ||
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, known as "Ciri" | Lesbian or Bisexual | Ciri, a secondary playable character, when asked about her feelings towards Skjall (a male NPC), the player may answer that she prefers women. She also had a girlfriend named Mistle in the books[156] that the games are based on. | Action role-playing | CD Projekt Red | Poland | |
Mislav | Gay | Mislav is a gay hunter encountered in the prologue.[157] | |||||
Yakuza 0 | Jun Oda | Gay or Bi/Pansexual | The Video Store Owner tells Kiryu that Oda fell in love with Tachibana the moment he was defeated in a fight when they met. At one point in the story he asks Kiryu to tell Tachibana he "really, honestly loved him" | Beat 'em up, Action-adventure | SEGA | Japan | |
2016 | Firewatch | Dave | Gay | In this game, the player can find various notes about two characters: Ron and Dave. Dave is said to have crushed on Ron, who never reciprocated his feelings.[158] | Adventure | Campo Santo | United States |
Fragments of Him | Will | Bisexual | The game follows the story of Will, the player character, on his very last morning just before he gets in a car accident that leads to his untimely death. The game involves Will reminiscing past experiences and emotions. Sarah is Will's ex-girlfriend and Harry is his current boyfriend.[159] | Casual | Sassybot | Netherlands | |
Harry | Gay | ||||||
Gangsters in Love | Player character | Bisexual | The player character can romance Aurora or one of multiple male characters.[160] | Visual novel | Voltage Entertainment USA | United States | |
Aurora James | Lesbian | ||||||
Overwatch | Tracer and Emily | Lesbian | The heroine Tracer is shown in the tie-in webcomic Reflections (2016) to be in a romantic relationship with a female character named Emily.[161] Tracer was confirmed to be a lesbian by Michael Chu, the lead writer of Overwatch.[162] | First-person shooter | Blizzard Entertainment | United States | |
Soldier: 76 and Vincent | Gay | In the short story "Bastet", Soldier: 76 is revealed to have had a romantic relationship with a man named Vincent. Lead writer Michael Chu confirmed that both characters are gay.[163] | |||||
Pridefest | — | In this game, the player is able to launch and manage a LGBT pride parade.[164] | Social simulation | Vertigo Arts | United States | ||
Stardew Valley | Player character | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | In this game, the player character may be male or female. The player character is able to romance and marry any of the bachelors (Alex, Elliott, Harvey, Sam, Sebastian and Shane) and bachelorettes (Abigail, Emily, Haley, Leah, Maru and Penny), regardless of their gender.
Once a player starts a relationship with them, the bachelor or bachelorette gets the "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" status. It is possible to have multiple boyfriends and/or girlfriends at the same time. The player is only able to marry one person at a time, but they can divorce and then marry someone else. After having only 2 friendship hearts with Leah, the player character may ask her: "(creepy) May I have a kiss?" If the player is female, this causes Leah to blush and reply "Oh! you're...? Me too. That's good to know.", implying that Leah is lesbian (before she kicks the player out of the house). The character of Alex has many dialogue responses that are unique when the player is male and starts a relationship with him; furthermore, Alex's grandfather, George, initially has difficulties accepting his grandson's sexual orientation, but will come around if the player maintains a good relationship with Alex. If the player is in a same-sex relationship with a bachelor or bachelorette, some of them state they have never felt that way with someone of their gender before. |
Farm simulation, role-playing | ConcernedApe | United States | |
Bachelors and bachelorettes | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | ||||||
Kel | Potentially Lesbian | Kel, the ex-lover of Leah (one of the bachelorettes) is of the same gender as the player character. Kel is either a straight man or a lesbian woman. | |||||
The Technomancer | Zachariah Mancer | Potentially gay or bisexual | Zachariah, the player character, can choose to romance Andrew, one of the male companions available in the game.[165] Two female companions, Amelia and Niesha, are also able to be romanced by the player. | Action role-playing | Spiders | France | |
Andrew | Gay | ||||||
Mafia III | Nicki Burke | Lesbian | An associate of the protagonist, it is revealed in the end of a side mission involving stealing moonshine that she is in a relationship with another woman named Darlene, something that her father frowns upon. At one point, Burke tells Lincoln that Nicki is usually at the distillery when she isn't out out quail huntin'. When Lincoln replies that quail isn't in season, Burke states "For her kind, it's always in season." This is a derogatory reference to Nicki's homosexuality, Quail being an old slang term for women. | Action-adventure, Third-person shooter | Hangar 13 | Czech Republic, U.S. | |
2017 | Hollow Knight | The Knight, the Hollow Knight, the Vessels and the Lost Kin | Non-binary | The Knight and their siblings are genderless beings.[166] | Metroidvania | Team Cherry | Australia |
Bretta | Pansexual | Bretta is a beetle girl who develops a crush on the genderless Knight, and later the male Zote. | |||||
Ze’mer and the Traitors’ Child | Lesbian | Ze’mer and the daughter of the Traitor Lord were lovers before the latter's death. | |||||
Sheo and Nailsmith | Gay | If the player chooses to spare Nailsmith after he requests the Knight kill him, he can be found in Sheo's home making art with him. The achievement for causing them to meet is called “Happy Couple”. | |||||
VA-11 HALL-A | Jill | Bisexual | The main character of the game. Jill discusses her past relationships with both men and women, and the death of her ex-girlfriend, Lenore, is a major plot point. | Visual Novel | Sukeban Games | Venezuela[167][168] | |
Dana | Pansexual | The owner of VA-11 HALL-A and Jill's boss, Dana's ex-girlfriend Lexi Rivers visits the bar at one point and she tells Jill that "cuteness has no boundaries" when discussing her sexuality. | |||||
Betty | Lesbian | A patron at VA-11 HALL-A, Betty explicitly discusses her crushes on women and that she has no interest in men. However, she has discussed to Jill about her confusing feelings for Deal, her male Lilim (species) co-worker. | |||||
Lenore | Lesbian | Jill's deceased ex-girlfriend. | |||||
Dorothy Haze | Pansexual | Dorothy is a Lilim (a sentient gynoid) who, despite having the physical appearance of a child, works as a sex worker. She discusses sexual encounters with both men and women and has no qualms about either. | |||||
Lexi | Lesbian | Lexi is the friend & former ex-girlfriend of Dana's and a former member of the Neo-San Francisco police. Compared to Dana, Lexi is more straightforward and to the point. | |||||
Mario | Gay | A biker patron of VA-11 HALL-A, Mario enjoys girly drinks and tells Jill that he's not into women. | |||||
Taylor | Agender | A disembodied Brain in a jar, Taylor claims to not believe in gender and requests to be referred to as either "it" or, if that makes someone uncomfortable, "they". | |||||
Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator | The player character | Gay or Bisexual | In this game, the player is able to date seven fathers. The player himself is the father of a teenage girl named Amanda. At the beginning of the game, the player is able to choose whether Amanda has another father or a mother, which is the ex-partner of the player character. | Visual novel, dating sim | Game Grumps | United States | |
Trans man (optional) | The player character can be transgender, as there is an option when creating the character to have a "binder bod". | ||||||
Damien Bloodmarch | Gay, Trans man | Damien Bloodmarch is a trans man.[169] | |||||
Craig, Mat, Joseph, Brian, Robert and Hugo | Bisexual |
Damien, Craig, Mat, Joseph, Brian, Robert and Hugo are the seven fathers that the male player character is able to date. As of the events of the game, Craig is divorced, and Mat and Robert are widowed, all from straight marriages. | |||||
Val | Lesbian |
Val is Robert's daughter. She has a girlfriend. | |||||
Herald: An Interactive Period Drama[170] | Robert Stoxan and Antinos | Gay | Robert Stoxan is a gay character. A letter to his ex-lover Antinos can be found among his belongings. | Adventure | Wispfire | Netherlands | |
Horizon Zero Dawn | Brageld | Gay | Brageld is a gay man Aloy meets who is mourning the death of his male partner. | Action role-playing | Geurrilla Games | Netherlands | |
Night in the Woods | Margaret "Mae" Borowski | Pansexual | The main character, Mae Borowski, is pansexual.[171] | Adventure | Infinite Fall | Canada | |
Gregg and Angus | Gay | Gregg and Angus are a gay couple.[172] | |||||
Jackie | Trans woman | Bea's friend Jackie is a trans woman.[173] | |||||
Expeditions: Viking | Thegn of Skjern | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | The main character, the thegn of Skjern (the name is given by the player) can be either male or female and can start romantic relationship with some of their companions, including Roskva and Ketill regardless of player character's gender. | Adventure | Logic Artists | Denmark | |
Roskva the Black | Bisexual | Roskva is a bisexual witch, a companion and a potential romantic interest of the main character, regardless of their gender. | |||||
Ketill Kolbjarnarson | Bisexual | Ketill is a hunter, a childhood friend and a companion of the main character. He can be romanced regardless of player character's gender. | |||||
Destiny 2 | Devrim Kay | Gay | Devrim, an NPC and ally to the player character, can mention through idle dialogue that he misses spending time with a man named Mark. Gideon Emery, Devrim's voice actor, confirmed that Devrim is gay and Mark was his boyfriend.[174] | First-person shooter, MMORPG | Bungie | United States | |
Hiveswap | Xefros Tritoh | Gay or bisexual | Xefros, an alien troll who serves as a friend and companion of the protagonist, admits in dialogue that he is in love with a boy, going so far as to make his crush's name his password. | Adventure | What Pumpkin Games | United States | |
Steven Universe: Save The Light[175] | Ruby, Sapphire & Pearl | Lesbian[176] | Action-adventure, Role-playing | Grumpyface Studios | United States | ||
SpellForce 3 | Isgrimm and his companion | Gay | Isgrimm is a dwarf companion. He can speak to the player of his male companion. | Role-playing | THQ Nordic | Germany | |
Prey | Morgan Yu (female), Mikhaila Ilyushin, Danielle Sho and Abigail Foy, Jason Chang | Lesbian or Bisexual | Morgan Yu was in a relationship with Mikhaila Ilyushin and Danielle Sho and Abigail Foy are in a relationship. Jason Chang is Morgan Yu's assistant and, regardless of Morgan's gender, the password to his personal terminal is "OMG!hotboss," implying that he has a crush on Morgan. | First-person shooter survival horror | Arkane Studios | United States | |
Doki Doki Literature Club! | Monika | Panromantic | In the last act, Monika states that she does not know much about the player, including if they are a boy or a girl. Despite that, she still calls herself their girlfriend and states: "it doesn't matter", an inconsistency interpreted as hinting ambiguous bisexuality. She calls the player her "boyfriend" in the same act afterward, however, another inconsistency conflicting the previously stated and hinting more toward a preference to heterosexuals. On the DDLC official reddit page, it was concluded that Monika has preferences, but they are second to being the player's perfect girlfriend no matter the conflicts. Furthermore, Dan Salvato also hints that Monika tries to love the player as they are, and her love depends if the player loves her or not.[177] |
Visual novel | Team Salvato | United States | |
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 | Sheba | Lesbian | It is stated in-game that Sheba's preference is for women. It is her goal to have a harem consisting of all girls. | Role-playing video game | Monolith Soft | Japan | |
Azami | Possibly bisexual or pansexual | Azami's possessive behavior over and clear romantic interest in her Driver remains the same no matter who her Driver is.[178][179] | |||||
Roc | Nonbinary | Despite being referred to with male pronouns, Roc does not fulfill the in-game requirement for a male Blade on Merc Missions, nor does he count as a female or an animal Blade. In the game's data, his gender is listed as "4". | |||||
Nekojishi | Lin Tian-Liao | Gay | Liao is a college freshman who suddenly discovers he has the ability to see spirits, that he can romance.[180] | Visual novel | Studio Klondike Team Nekojishi |
Taiwan | |
Lin Hu | Lin Hu is a tiger and acts as a fatherly figure towards Liao.[181] | ||||||
Likulau | A serious snow leopard, Likulau is a romance option of Liao.[181] | ||||||
Senpai | Senpai is a leopard cat that inhabited the body of one of Liao's classmates and pursues him.[181] | ||||||
2018 | Celeste | Madeline | Trans woman, Lesbian or Bisexual | Cutscenes in Celeste: Farewell hints that Madeline is a trans woman;[182] this was later confirmed by developer Maddy Thorson.[183] | Platformer | Matt Makes Games | Canada |
Your Royal Gayness | Player character, other princes | Gay | The player takes the role of a gay prince left as regent while his parents are away for 60 days. While managing the kingdom the player character secretly courts princes from other kingdoms. | Simulation | Lizard Hazard Games | Finland | |
Spymaster Seraph | Genderqueer | The Spymaster Seraph's gender is left purposefully ambiguous and the character uses they/them pronouns.[184] | |||||
BattleTech | Player character | Non-binary (Optional) | While creating their character, the player can choose they / them pronouns.[185] | Turn-based strategy | Harebrained Schemes | United States | |
Detroit: Become Human | Traci Units | Lesbian or Bisexual | Two female Traci units who are in love and attempting to flee from their unwanted lives can be found in the chapter where Hank and Connor search a sex club after a murder occurred there. Connor can choose to either side with the android lovers and let them flee, or kill them. In a later chapter, Hank discusses their relationship and expresses sympathy for them. | Adventure | Quantic Dream | France | |
Octopath Traveler | Primrose | Bisexual | Primrose is a female player character with the ability to seduce both male and female characters to summon them into battle. They follow her wherever she goes. | Role-playing, adventure | Square Enix, Acquire | Japan | |
Liebt Mich Nicht (LMN) | Gottfried (Player character), Faust | Gay | Gottfried and Faust are canonical lovers before the events of the game, with flashbacks and references to their relationship over the course of the game.[186] | Metroidvania, Role-playing | Siv & Quin | United States | |
Fighting EX Layer | Sharon | Lesbian | In her Fighting EX Layer appearance Sharon has been stated to be a lesbian.[187] | Fighting | Arika | Japan | |
Magical Mystery Cure | Nari | Lesbian, Genderqueer | Magical Mystery Cure is part crafting game and part visual novel. When Ella accidentally ingests a magical potion ahead of her birthday party, it's up to players (as her partner Nari) to combine the right combination of ingredients in order to reverse the effects. Nari is described as a genderfluid witch in training while Ella is described as a trans woman and an oracle of the stars.[188][189] | Visual novel | Dotorriii | United States | |
Ella | Trans woman | ||||||
I Don't Have A Cue! | Hailey | Lesbian | During her college's production, she got a crush on Shana, who has issues with processing her signals because of her autism.[190][189] | Visual novel | Drazillion | United States | |
We Happy Few | Roger Bacon and James Maxwell | Gay | James and Roger are a gay couple living in Wellington Wells and featured as side characters in the main game. Roger is the protagonist of We Happy Few's first downloadable content They Came From Below (2019), with James as a secondary character.[191] | action-adventure game, survival horror | Compulsion Games, Gearbox Publishing | Canada | |
Dragalia Lost | Joe | Gay | Joe once had a rivalry with a man as to whom would get the chance to fight against the top archer. For a month before their dual was up, they lived together, and Joe fell in love with him.[192] | Action role-playing game | Cygames | Japan | |
Naveed | Bisexual | ||||||
Orion | |||||||
The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories | J.J. Macfield | Trans woman | J.J. Macfield is the protagonist of The Missing, and her identity as a trans woman is slowly revealed through the game's story.[193] | ||||
Deltarune | Kris | Non-binary | Kris is the main protagonist of Deltarune and the human Hero of Light. Their gender is never specified, and they receive the option to flirt with (and be reciprocated by) characters and creatures of multiple genders. [194] | Role-playing | Toby Fox | United States | |
2019 | Apex Legends | Makoa Gibraltar | Gay | His character profile mentions a boyfriend.[195] | Battle royale, first-person shooter | Respawn Entertainment | United States |
Bloodhound | Non-binary | According to Respawn's Community Manager Jay Frechette, Bloodhound is non-binary.[195][196] | |||||
Loba | Bisexual | Senior writer Tom Castillo confirmed on Twitter that Loba is bisexual.[197] | |||||
Disco Elysium | Harrier "Harry" DuBois | Possibly Bisexual | Harrier "Harry" DuBois is the protagonist of Disco Elysium. He was previously in a relationship with a woman named Dora. During the events of the game, Harry can find himself mysteriously drawn to an effeminate man smoking on a balcony, and the game is ambiguous if the feeling is due to genuine suppressed homosexual desires, or simply due to the man bearing a passing resemblance to Dora. A researchable thought earned from this interaction does not give a concrete answer one way or the other. [198] | Role-playing | ZA/UM | United States | |
Kim Kitsuragi | Gay | Kim is Harry's police partner during the events of Disco Elysium. Completing the "Homo-Sexual Underground" Thought will unlock an optional convesation with Kim where Harry can ask him directly if he is gay, and he responds in the affirmitive. [199] | |||||
Ruby | Lesbian | Ruby is an essential supporting character in Disco Elysium who is intimately tied to the events behind the investigation. She is strongly-implied to be in love with the attractive singer Klaasje, and it is suggested (though not confirmed) that this may have partially motivated her actions. [200] | |||||
Mortal Kombat 11 | Mileena, Tanya | Bisexual | Once Mileena's Tower Kombat is complete, her ending shows her and Tanya in a relationship feeding their newborn baby human flesh. This ends years of speculation on their sexuality.[201] | ||||
Newfound Courage | Alex | Gay | Alex, the main protagonist of Newfound Courage, is gay, and the game explores topics such as unrequited love.[202][203][204] | Point-and-click adventure | Curtis Campion | Canada | |
Catherine: Full Body | Erica Anderson | Trans woman | Erica, the waitress at The Stray Sheep, is revealed to be a transgender woman in one of the endings.[129] | Puzzle-platformer | Atlus | Japan | |
Vincent Brooks and Rin (Qatherine) | Bisexual/
Pansexual |
Rin, a romanceable character new to Full Body, is revealed as a male which dresses as a female. The player character, Vincent, can choose to pursue Rin in an equally legitimate romance route. | |||||
SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest | Kaiawu | Bisexual | Kaiawu is a chieftain's son from a small tribe and one of the companions of the main character who can be romanced regardless of General Aerev's gender. | Role-playing | THQ Nordic | Germany | |
GreedFall | De Sardet | Potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual | De Sardet is the protagonist of the game who can start same-sex romances with some of the companions. | Role-playing | Spiders | France | |
Vasco | Bisexual | Vasco is a naut and one of the player's companions who can be romanced regardless of De Sardet's gender. | |||||
Siora | Bisexual | Siora is a native of Teer Fradee and De Sardet's companion that can become romantically involved with the main character of any gender. | |||||
Pesterquest | Vriska Serket | Trans woman | In her appearance, "The Scourge of the High Seas," Vriska becomes annoyed with the player for calling her "dude," and emphasizes "female" on a sheet with her name on it. She later talks with the player about her identity. This is the result of a request, and extends to the game's source material, Homestuck. | Visual novel | What Pumpkin Games, Fellow Traveller | United States | |
The Outer Worlds | Parvati Holcomb | Bi-romantic asexual | Parvati is a crew and party member on the Player's ship "The Unreliable" acting as the ship's engineer. She expresses professional and later romantic interest in the Chief engineer of the Colony Ship "Ground Breaker", Junlei. Her Companion quest results in the two of them becoming a couple. Narrative designer Kate Dollarhyde, an asexual woman who is also bi-romantic, was excited they were inheriting this character, saying she was glad to "bring that personal experience to the audience," making her character different from other companions.[205] | Role-playing | Obsidian Entertainment | United States | |
The Unplanned Variable | Aromantic/asexual (potentially) | In the above mentioned character's Companion quest, the player character has the option to relate to Parvati's feelings about sexual intimacy, and can add that, unlike her, they are not interested in romance, too. | |||||
Outer Wilds | Hearthians | Non-binary | All members of the Hearthian species are explicitly non-binary and use they/them pronouns.[206] | Adventure, open world | Mobius Digital | United States |
2020s
Year | Title | Character(s) | Classification | Notes | Genre | Developer | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Granblue Fantasy Versus | Ladiva | Trans woman | Ladiva is a wrestler, a "muscular fighter with a prominent goatee", and one of the game's multiple playable characters.[207] | Fighting game | Arc System Works | Japan |
Cagliostro | Trans woman | Cagliostro is an alchemist born as a terminally ill boy, she built herself a healthy female body to live as and is one of the game's playable DLC characters. | |||||
Katalina | Bisexual or Lesbian | Katalina is the loyal bodyguard of Lyria, one of the main characters of the series, and part of the default roster of playable characters. She shows affection and interest in the non-playable character Vira, who is openly in love with Katalina. | |||||
Belial | Bisexual | Belial is one of the primary antagonists for the game and was introduced as a playable DLC character. He expresses direct attraction to both male and female characters in the game and has explicitly stated his attraction for the male character Lucilius. | |||||
Yuel | Lesbian | Yuel was introduced as a playable DLC character and is a treasure hunter on a quest to revive her royal lineage. She is in a relationship with the non-playable character Societte. | |||||
2020 | Bokuhime Project | Hiyu Shinosaki | Lesbian | Hiyu, a supporting character attending the same school as the protagonist, is attracted to women.[208] | Adventure game | Nippon Ichi Software | Japan |
2020 | Tell Me Why | Tyler Ronan | Trans man, bisexual | Tyler and his twin sister Alyson travel to their childhood home in Alaska and must come to terms with their childhood. The game will also deal with how Tyler, who has transitioned since leaving home, is being affected. Dontnod worked with GLAAD to help create the character.[209] Tyler can potentially start a relationship with Alyson's best friend Michael.[210] | Adventure | Dontnod Entertainment | France |
Michael | Bisexual | Michael is Alyson's best friend and can potentially start a relationship with Tyler.[210] | |||||
2020 | Hades | Zagreus | Bisexual or pansexual | Zagreus is the son of Hades and described by the game's writer and designer Greg Kasavin as "bisexual or pansexual".[211] He has a few potential love interests and can start a relationship with Thanatos.[212] | Roguelike dungeon crawler | Supergiant Games | United States |
Thanatos | Gay | Thanatos is the god of death and can start a relationship with Zagreus.[212] | |||||
Achilles | [213] | ||||||
Patroclus | |||||||
2020 | Vampire: The Masquerade – Night Road | Player character | Potentially non-binary, gay, bisexual, or lesbian | Character creator allows the player to choose between being male, female, or non-binary, and being bisexual, gay, or straight.[214][215][216] | Interactive fiction | Choice of Games | United States |
2020 | Bugsnax | Lizbert | Lesbian | The missing explorer Grumpus named Elizabert "Lizbert" Megafig is in a relationship with the nurse Eggabell Batternugget.[217] | Adventure | Young Horses | United States |
Eggabell | |||||||
Chandlo and Snorpy | Gay | Snorpy asked Chandlo to be his boyfriend, only to realize that they been dating for years when they decided to move in together. | |||||
Floofty | Non-Binary | Snorpy's sibling Floofty is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns | |||||
2020 | Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Gloria Davila and Steff | Lesbian | Gloria Davila debuted in Spider-Man (2018). She later reveals to have a relationship with Steff in this standalone expansion game. | Action-adventure | Insomniac Games | United States |
2020 | Cyberpunk 2077 | V | Potentially LGBTQ+ | The character creator will allow V to be transgender or non-binary.[218] | Role-playing video game | CD Projekt Red | Poland |
Claire Russell | Trans woman | Claire has a transgender pride decal on the back of her vehicle. | |||||
Judy Alvarez | Lesbian | [219] | |||||
Meredith Stout | Bisexual | ||||||
Kerry Eurodyne | Gay | ||||||
2020 | Please Be Happy | TBA | Lesbian | The story is about love between women.[220] | Visual novel | Studio Élan | |
2021 | Goodbye Volcano High | Fang | Non-binary | The main protagonist, Fang, is classified as non-binary.[221] | Narrative adventure game | KO_OP | Canada |
2021 | Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 | Player character | Players will be able to choose pronouns, with the character creators going beyond "male and female models".[222] | Action role-playing game | Hardsuit Labs | United States | |
2021 | ValiDate: Struggling Singles In Your Area | Bigs Smallson | Bisexual | His entry on the cast page is subtitled "openly bi and ready to fly."[223] | Visual novel | Veritable Joy Studios | United States |
Emhari Abdi | Bigender, lesbian | In an interview on the game's Twitter account, the sprite artist for Emhari mentions that she is transfeminine, bigender, and a lesbian.[224] | |||||
Inaya Saifi | Bisexual | Her sprite has a bisexual pride pin on it. |
See also
- List of animated works with LGBT characters
- List of graphic art works with LGBT characters
- List of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender-related films
- Lists of television programs with LGBT characters
- Lists of American television episodes with LGBT themes
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