A recent research paper suggests that DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) content in games may be harming sales and revenue in recent years. It is claimed that the more DEI elements a game contains, the closer its sales revenue may drop by nearly 10%. This impact is said to be even more pronounced in more conservative countries like China.
Over the past few years, diversity and inclusion have become significant topics in the gaming industry. Well-known consulting firms like Sweet Baby Inc. have gained widespread attention for helping studios promote DEI in major titles. However, a new study finds that DEI content is having a negative impact on games, at least in regions like China.
As long as games cater to local players, regions like China can become massive markets, as demonstrated by Black MYTH - Steam Edition: Wukong and the recently released Phantom Blade Zero. Meanwhile, Dragon Age: The Veilguard faced harsh criticism for going too far with inclusivity. Assassin's Creed Shadows also became a hot topic due to the inclusion of Yasuke.
Chinese economists Wang Haomiao and Zhang Bohui recently conducted a study analyzing how an excessive focus on DEI affects games, particularly in more conservative countries. The study examined over 9,000 games released on Steam between 2015 and 2024, using the AI model DeepSeek R1 to assign each game an SBI rating from 1 to 5.
Preliminary results show that games with higher SBI ratings saw a 5.26% decline in sales and a 7.69% drop in revenue. The study attributes this mainly to negative player reactions, which subsequently affected game sales.
However, the authors specifically note that the study is still ongoing, so current results should not be considered definitive conclusions. At the same time, there is indeed growing opposition to the gaming industry's increasing focus on DEI.
Notably, the gaming industry seems to have started de-emphasizing DEI recently, especially as development costs continue to rise and the sector faces ongoing challenges.
Major publishers have found it difficult to keep key studios like BioWare operating normally. As a result, DEI is rapidly dropping in priority for the largest game developers and publishers.