Nearly 1 in 5 gamers are LGBTQ according to GLAAD

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today revealed its first ever report on State of LGBTQ Inclusion in Video Games. The inaugural report, which GLAAD developed in partnership with the Nielsen Games Team, covers representation and inclusion in the games industry, as well as the demographics of gamers themselves. One of the biggest findings of the report is that 17% of active gamers surveyed — or nearly 1 in 5 — self-identify as LGBTQ.

GamesBeat spoke with Blair Durkee, GLAAD’s associate director of gaming, about the implications of the report, as well as the benefits of greater diversity for the industry as a whole. According to Durkee, the report reflects the increasingly diverse audience of gamers and their interest in seeing their lives depicted in games. It’s also an attempt to help the industry tap into an underrepresented community that would embrace representation.