- A recent research paper suggests that DEI inclusion has hurt game sales and revenue in recent years.
- It is said that a greater presence of DEI elements leads to a nearly 10% decrease in sales revenue.
- This effect is more profound in conservative countries, like China.
It’s no secret that diversity and inclusivity have become major subjects in the games industry over the last few years.
In fact, entire consulting firms, such as the prominent Sweet Baby Inc., have become well-known for helping studios push DEI in the biggest titles. A new study, however, finds that DEI is harming games, at least in regions like China.
Why it matters: Regions like China have proven to be absolutely massive for games that click with their audiences, with the likes of Black Myth: Wukong and the recently-released Phantom Blade Zero serving as examples.
A recent study from Chinese economists Haomiao Wang and Bohui Zhang outlined how excessive DEI focus can impact games, particularly in conservative countries.
The study analyzed a total of more than 9,000 games on Steam released between 2015 and 2024, using the AI model DeepSeek R1 to assign each of these games an SBI rating between 1 and 5.
Preliminary results showed that games with a higher SBI rating exhibited a 5.26% decrease in sales and a 7.69% decrease in revenue. According to this study, this was mainly caused by negative player reactions that later translated to worse sales.
The authors also highlighted that the study is still in progress, so these results should not be taken as absolutes. However, it’s no secret that many are against the industry’s growing focus on DEI today.
Interestingly, the industry has seemingly begun to shift away from DEI recently, especially in the wake of continued struggles against rising game development costs.
Because big publishers are already finding it challenging to keep major studios like BioWare functional, DEI is quickly taking a backseat in terms of priorities for the biggest game developers and publishers.
What are your thoughts on the preliminary conclusions of this study? Share in the comments below and on the Tech4Gamers Forums.
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[Senior News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than 5 years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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