Blizzard's FPS Overwatch, which has numerous female player character options, is twice as popular with female gamers than other FPSes

QuanticFoundry, a top game industry analytics firm, just published some interesting survey data on the importance of female protagonists in games. Unsurprisingly, female gamers put a high value on having a female character option; perhaps surprisingly, a majority of male gamers put value on the option as well, with 1 in 3 surveyed saying a female character option is “very” or “extremely” important to them, and another 1 in 3 saying it’s “somewhat” important. (See chart below.)

This report should encourage game developers to add a female player option, even though doing so costs additional development time and money. As QuanticFoundry co-founder Nick Yee puts it, “In terms of cost benefit, there's a higher payoff if the game already emphasizes fantasy and story and if female participation is traditionally lower in the genre (in terms of new player acquisition).”

In other words, Nick is suggesting that game genres which don't typically appeal to females have an even greater motivation to add female protagonists. So not, for example, casual match 3 and puzzle games which already have a large female player base, but male-dominated games like tactical/FPS shooters and MOBAs: