Fortnite took the world by storm when it hit consoles in 2017, and it continues to be a staple within the gaming community. The game, which was developed and published by North Carolina-based company Epic Games, recently became the subject of backlash from the self-described Catholic lobbying group CatholicVote.org.
A recent blog post written by the staff at CatholicVote criticized the game for containing “widespread and overt LGBTQ content.” The article cited a tweet from VICE magazine co-founder and founder of the Proud Boys Gavin McInnes, which contained images from a player-made LGBTQ+ Pride-themed “island” that players from around the world could play.
“My ten-year-old boy is playing [Fortnite] when this option appears,” McInnes wrote. “Rewards include going from straight to pansexual. WTF!?”
Fortnite is a battle royale inspired game where 100 players fight each other until there is one player remaining. The game features various cosmetic elements so players can customize their characters to look how they want, as well as host several events throughout the year with limited edition or rare in-game items.
Epic Games started an event called Rainbow Royale, which was meant to “celebrate love, understanding, acceptance, and all of the colors that make up our community.” This year’s event included new costumes for characters, as well as an exclusive animation characters could do, which included opening a large bamboo fan and voguing.
Fortnite isn’t the only video game receiving pushback for increased LGBTQ+ representation. According to Charlotte Gaymers Network Executive Director and Co-Founder Jonny Saldana, the video game world has been making progress toward having more inclusive storylines and characters.
“Until very recently, most game developing houses were primarily staffed by straight white men,” he explained. “So now that these spaces are being filled with more people of color, more queer folks, all of that, you’re seeing a lot more often authentic storytelling or genuine storytelling within this world.”
Saldana said what Fortnite is doing is the “bare minimum” for what other game developers have done in the past with other franchises, some of which actually include LGBTQ+ story lines.
“These are not storylines that have anything with LGBTQ thematic elements or stories or anything like that, these aren’t LGBTQ characters,” Saldana explained. “It’s literally a pride flag. A backpack with the pride symbol on it. Things like that.”
Other popular shooting games such as Call of Duty have recently added LGBTQ+ pride cosmetic elements players can customize their characters with, but Charlotte Gaymers Network Deputy Director David McRae said the move towards more inclusivity within the narratives in video games is a long time coming.
“Nobody’s there to make you uncomfortable, that is not our goal,” he explained. “We have more in common than you think, we’re just trying to get through life. Queer people are always around you, so now we’re finally seeing our stories being told.”
Saldana and McRae cited different video game franchises with openly queer or gender-nonconforming characters where the character’s existence in the story plot isn’t driven by their sexual orientation. Some franchises include the Last of Us series (the main protagonist is a lesbian and there are LGBTQ+ storylines), Baulder’s Gate 3 (a Dungeons and Dragons inspired story-driven game), Overwatch (a first-person shooter team game) and more.
At the end of the day, Saldana said it’s important to have representation beyond labeling characters as queer and making their entire existence about that. Rather, he hopes there will be a time where games can have LGBTQ+ protagonists who become the heroes of their own stories.
“I can’t wait for the day when I watch a film or I play a video game, and the character is gay or trans or lesbian or non-binary, and it’s not made into such a big thing,” Saldana said. “Because when we watch movies or play games and it’s straight people, they’re not like, ‘Oh, I’m straight, and this is my straight girlfriend,’ … just to be able to watch or participate in an artistic medium where the LGBTQ character just exists and that’s just normal, that’s what we’re working toward.”