Sexual abuse allegations rock the game industry again

The game industry reached a new boiling point this week as more than 200 people made allegations of sexual assault, rape, and harassment. They took to social media to tell harrowing tales of overcoming fear of ostracism and proceeded to relate stories of disgusting behavior by their abusers.

This week feels like a new upheaval in the industry’s attempt to deal with discrimination. It comes a matter of weeks after the Black Lives Matter protest began to shake up the industry — along with the entire nation — about mistreatment of Black people. That eruption elicited a positive response from the game industry to do better in its treatment and representation of Black people. And it seems this new eruption will also result in changes for women and other abused people — so long as the movement doesn’t fizzle, perhaps due to inaction by those in power, as has happened in the past after big moments such as in 2019 or 2014.