No Mercy is a Video Game that Breeds ®-pe Culture
CW: This post contains mentions of sexual and gender-based violence.
*Sources: Newsweek, @kimiyasajjadi
In early April, Zerat Games released a video game called No Mercy on the gaming platform Steam.
No Mercy features a violent and disturbing storyline in which players rape a woman, get her pregnant, and murder her along with her newborn baby. The game includes scenes of non-consensual incest and instructs players
to “never take no for an answer.”
The game was released in 3D without an
age rating or content warning, and has been described as a “rape simulator.” The game developers made public statements defending this, claiming that rape is a “fetish” rather than
a serious crime.
No Mercy was eventually banned in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia due to tens of thousands of petition signatures and emails, prompting Zerat Games to voluntarily remove the game from Steam entirely. The game was not banned in the United States before it was removed from Steam.
Misogyny is all too common in video game design:
Less than 20% of video games feature female characters.
Only 3-9% of video game protagonists are female.
59.9% of female video game characters are sexualized, compared to less than 1% of male characters.
83% of male video game characters are violent.
Playing video games with sexualized female characters and violent male characters breeds rape culture and sexual harassment. Studies suggest that after just 15 minutes of gameplay with a sexualized female character, gamers are highly likely to sexually harass female players.
To avoid harassment, many female gamers are now disguising their identities by muting their microphones and changing their profiles to appear gender-neutral or masculine.
*Source: Stanford
While women make up nearly 50% of the world’s 3.2 billion video game players, video games are still seen as a “boys’ club” for cishet White men.
Women, people of color, religious minorities and LGBTQ+ people all face high rates of harassment in video games. 40% of female gamers have reported abuse from male gamers while playing online multiplayer games, including name-calling, rape threats, and stalking. Chat room participants with female usernames are 25 times more likely to receive threatening or sexually explicit private messages than those with male or gender-ambiguous usernames. Studies have found that female or gender-neutral players are perceived as “less competent” than male players, and female gamers are more likely to be excluded or excessively attacked in gameplay.
*Sources: United Nations, Girls Make Games Scholarship Fund, BBC, Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM), Bryter, Forbes, Sage Journals, Stanford
Women working in the video game industry also face discrimination and harassment.
84% of executive positions in the gaming industry are held by men, and only 24% of
non-executive roles are held by women.
A 2015 study found that 33% of women working in the UK gaming industry have
faced gender-based harassment and bullying.
Women and gender diverse people in the
video game development, streaming, and
e-sports have spoken up to criticize the industry’s misogynistic culture during movements such as GamerGate and #MeToo. While these movements helped to expose the rampant sexual harassment and discrimination in the industry, several employees resigned
or were fired from major gaming companies including IGN, Polygon, Riot Games, and Ubisoft after speaking up.
Sources: Stanford
Survivor Resources
@rainn
@metoomvmt
@strongheartsdv
@niceforwhatmvmt
@thesurvivorstrustuk
@womenforwomen
@teachusconsent
U.S. National Sexual Assault hotline: 800-656-4673
National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988
U.K. National Suicide Helpline: 800-689-5652
AUS Lifeline: 13 11 14
Take Action
Support organizations working towards
safety and gender equity in gaming:
@getwigi
@femmegaming
@girlsmakegames
@women_in_games_wigj
Donate to the Girls Make Games
Scholarship Fund at gmgsf.org
