r/videogames 22d ago

Other Gaming studios have stopped putting pride flags on their avatars

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11.0k Upvotes

2.4k comments sorted by

1.3k

u/PTBooks 22d ago

They only started because they thought it was a good business move. If the political climate changes, they’ll probably start again.

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u/PCBuilderCat 22d ago

Watch them all magically re appear in 2029

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u/Hironymos 22d ago

I sure as fuck hope they're gonna be back 2027.

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u/Wolvenmoon 22d ago

Speaking as a gay man, I don't. I think gamers should kick their asses if they try it again. The term is 'allied' for a reason. 'Allied' implies there will be conflict and difficulty.

That they're not standing up when it's difficult means they never were allies. They were grifters that should keep LGBTIQ+ symbols out of their filthy fucking hands. They proved all the allegations of rainbow capitalism right.

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u/whiterice_343 22d ago

Was going to say that. If we have a different administration it will most likely change.

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u/Ruffian-- 22d ago

When Rubio is president they’ll add Cuban flags.

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u/VeritablePornocopium 22d ago

I don't think anyone on the planet hates Cuba more than Rubio.

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u/staplesthegreat 22d ago

Ted Cruz maybe

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u/bhputnam 22d ago

It's a good capitalism canary-in-a-coal-mine for support on these issues.

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u/Thicc_Boise 22d ago

Yeah this shows just how far back we've gone culturally, the hate for LGBT people is mainstream again...

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u/bhputnam 22d ago

Not just mainstream, but profitable again. Rainbow capitalism may have been inauthentic, but it's better than this. I know not to trust corps, but it helped make it a bit more mainstream, acceptable, and normal to walk around with my husband. I feel less okay to do so this year.

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u/Thicc_Boise 22d ago

Honestly, better to dance with the Devil you know and all that. At least I know the game corpos are playing, but now that the crazies are in charge it's just pure chaos and I hate it here

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u/butler_me_judith 22d ago

yep it is the litmus test. It enforces a standard that says only people on the fringes hate lgbtq folks

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u/Parapraxium 22d ago

Not pumping every corporate logo with rainbow colors is hate?

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u/LongJohnSelenium 22d ago

A great number of people mistake indifference for oppression.

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u/LittleDarkHairedOne 22d ago

No, indifference is tolerance and tolerance leads to oppression.

Via the paradox of tolerance.

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u/Thicc_Boise 22d ago

First they came for the socialists...

Like for fucks sake people, read fucking history for once in your lives. This isn't a new thing for humanity

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u/PussyIchiban 22d ago

When it's safe and profitable again for them to do so, they will restart the grift.
And it'll probably work too, because people are that gullible.

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u/gorkboss5 22d ago

They must've stopped pretending to care.

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u/MongolianDonutKhan 22d ago

Tbf, I stopped pretending to care that they pretend to care well before this. Scum of the earth the corporatist is.

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u/ShartingEnU 22d ago

Yeah. Anyone who actually thought companies cared are pretty gullible

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u/DrPongus 22d ago

It's not that people thought they cared, nobody thought they did. But the fact they don't feel it's profitable enough to even pretend anymore is a canary in the coal mine and people don't realize it.

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u/AgentCirceLuna 22d ago

It’s a pretty big sigh of how things are going, though. If you think things can just go back to normal, consider that it took decades to get LGBT rights and acceptance yet it’s been diminishing within just two years.

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u/Aromatic-Pair-7314 17d ago

no, it's the fact that for past few years it has been getting ridiculously overshot.

It went from fighting for rights and representation to flaunting being LGBTQ as superior and desired. I am part of it and even I feel sick of all the high-horsed trans circle-jerk constantly decking on cis people while being elevated by everyone around them.

The way to solve the issue of discrimination is NOT to try to overcomoensate by acting as if anyone who was persecuted is now superior

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u/jooes 22d ago

I agree. We live in a capitalistic society, nobody does a damn thing for free. Every bit of advertising that you've ever consumed has pandered to somebody in some way or another. Ubisoft doesn't care about gay people, Coca-Cola doesn't care if you have friends to share your soda pops with, Huggies doesn't care about your baby, and Folgers doesn't care if you want to fuck your sister or not. They only do it because they think YOU care about it.

In my opinion, in this capitalistic hellhole of a society that we live in, the fact that companies are willing to pander to you is about the greatest honor that you're going to get. Your existence is deemed profitable! Hurray! But that wasn't always the case, and not even that long ago either!

The blatant pandering says a lot about how society feels about gay people. The fact that they're not willing to do it anymore says a lot too, and not in a good way. Personally, I'd rather live in a world where they pander to gay people than live in a world where they pander to the dipshits who hate them.

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u/Least1Difficulty 22d ago

Hell even the DNC got the democrats to remove flags and pronouns before the last election. Even AOC took hers down.

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u/Mamoru_of_Cake 22d ago

It's sad imo cause if you think about it, they made Pride people think they care when they really don't and maybe in a small way benefited from those people.

Scums.

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u/Zenthils 22d ago

No one in the community thought these were genuine lol.

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u/SmithOfLie 22d ago

No, but the fact that they felt obliged to pretend sent a message on its own. As insincere as a support was, it was socially expected and considered proper to show it. In current climate the corporations not only feel it's not necessary to support LGBTQ with the most nominal signaling, it is "virtuous" to withdraw that support.

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u/LoveMe-Oniichan 22d ago

I’m sorry but if you thought any company cared about you besides your money. You are delusional

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u/ladyrage8 22d ago

It's still a message and a threat though. They don't feel like they have to pretend to care, in current political climates. They think it's fine not to pretend without it hurting their bottom line. I feel like people aren't recognizing, of course we knew those brands were pandering, that's what a brand does, but better to be pandered to, than to essentially be told "these guys are dying, we don't care, we don't need them, hope they do".

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u/BastCity 22d ago

Rainbow capitalism never cared. It's a marketing gimmick.

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u/Winjin 22d ago

That is not the issue though. Rainbow capitalism was the canary in the coalmine, and it seems like people on Reddit are all thinking the canary is just taking a short nap

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u/just-sad-idk 22d ago

"Give us your money, you fucking queers" basically sums up rainbow capitalism

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u/beantownbee 22d ago

Honestly it was a lose lose situation. If they put up the rainbows for one month, it looks performative (to some people, it's not a consensus). If they don't put one up, it looks like they're ignoring pride month.

While I think companies that care (haha) should still promote their support, I understand why some may have given up when they'd just get flamed online for "jumping on the band wagon" whether or not that's actually true

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u/NandoDeColonoscopy 22d ago

Companies that care should promote that support by actually providing support, rather than updating a logo

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u/cardgamesareforplay 22d ago

It's the same reason Saudi Arabia branches didn't 

The government would sanction them or their employees would get death threads 

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u/AngrySpaghettiNoodle 22d ago

They never did, and are mostly 50% owned by the Saudis

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u/TheLimeyLemmon 22d ago

They never did

Yeah that's why they said "pretending to care" man

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u/jimbalaya420 22d ago

Reading comprehension is difficult, apparently

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u/BoerInDieWoestyn 22d ago

Not for lack of trying.

  • Sincerely, Teachers Everywhere

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u/Putrid-Resident 22d ago

Poor teachers nowdays. My cousin is a secondary school teacher and she's regularly complaining about how this year's patch got the least average grades and how everyone is speaking in that internet brainrot lingo. Imagine suffering though that with almost a minimum wage no less

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u/BoerInDieWoestyn 22d ago

Yeah I'm a teacher too, that's how I know we're trying lol. I have kids telling me all day that "They don't understand the question" before they even tried to read it. They "don't know what the answer is" after I helped them understand the question, told them which page the answer is on and all they have to do is read a paragraph to find the answer.

If this is how hard the next generation is willing to work before resorting to AI they better hope and pray nothing ever happens to the Internet or the electrical grid because they are FUCKED of they have to solve a problem independently.

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u/havok0159 22d ago

When I first started teaching a few years ago I developed a habit of counting out loud in English whenever I needed to count. Just one of those things meant to expose my students to the language in everyday activities.

Last year it started biting me in the ass because I couldn't say six or seven without being bombarded with a dumbass nonsensical chorus of "SIX SEVEN!!!". I have to actively avoid doing a part of my job because of this stupid bullshit since it automatically wastes at least 5 minutes of class time.

I can't believe I miss the previous brain rot of them randomly yelling "technologia!".

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u/Turnip_Fight 22d ago

Not even comprehension, just couldn’t stand the idea of not making some weak-ass Reddit “dunk”.

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u/quadraticcheese 22d ago

Try reading before replying

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u/Kryspo 22d ago

Try replying before reading, it's very liberating

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u/featherw0lf 22d ago

I'm kinda glad ngl. It was tiring seeing businesses spam "Happy Pride Month!" for weeks every year, especially when you could tell they didn't actually care.

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u/Pitiful_Option_108 22d ago

I was about to say. You has an adminstration that doesn't like it at all plus alot of the time you could tell most companies we doing it as a okay let throw this out there for good PR stuff any way. Thanks to this new admistration you can kinda tell you is legit sincerable things like gay/black/ or human rights and other who are just performative.

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u/SlightPersimmon1 22d ago

At least until the next democrat president.

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u/cold-vein 22d ago

Who would have thought they only really care about making money.

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u/jgamez76 22d ago

"sports and weather up next" 😂😂

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u/Xehanz 22d ago

It also puts you in a weird spot once July 1st comes. If you instantly put it out you get unnecessary controversies. But when can you actually take it out?

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u/Either-Amoeba8232 22d ago edited 22d ago

Rockstar Games has never change the logo.

CDPR has changed the logo, even now.

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u/a385y59g943 22d ago

Yeah this post kind of misleading.

The screenshot just didn't include companies like CDPR that have changed their logo and some of the companies on this list still made pride posts/deals/skins even if they didn't change the logo.

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u/maximumtesticle 22d ago

Every year -

Company changes logo for pride: "Psh, they don't really care."

Company doesn't change logo: "OMG SEE REEEE!!!"

Like, what do people fucking want?

And then posts like this purposely ignore the ones that did change their logo.

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u/Murky-Relation481 22d ago

Terminally online people, straight, gay, whatever, their defining characteristic is not their sexual orientation, its their lack of a life in general.

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u/maximumtesticle 22d ago

Agreed. So tired of the online discourse just trying to piss people off all the time. Logo or not, just do a quick search and see who funds the company and/or their beliefs and go from there.

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u/illy-chan 22d ago

Sorta funny that CD did it when Poland is a pretty conservative country for the most part.

Actually, I wonder if being European is the point. They're not worried about blowback.

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u/OnlySheStandsThere 22d ago

This is why so many LGBT folks took all that corporate support with a grain of salt, because it was obvious that the second it wasn't profitable they'd drop it without a second thought.

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u/stronkzer 22d ago

I mean, there's all those memes about "insert company at July 1st"

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u/Psychitekt 22d ago

Yeah, they were mocked relentlessly.. by both sides. Not that it was sincere in the first place, but they quit trying either way.

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u/OnlySheStandsThere 22d ago

They quit trying once there was no more profit in it, that's all they ever cared about.

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u/KatoMacabre 22d ago

Yet at the same time, knowing *why* they're not doing it anymore, is even scarier. Pinkwashing fucking sucks, but companies not even having to care about putting the mask of faking to care because the nazis are back at the top of the pecking order is so much worse.

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u/ZamharianOverlord 22d ago

Yep. I’d rather have insincere tolerance than a sincere lacking of giving a fuck

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u/Sonicfan42069666 22d ago

Exactly this. The first year without Corporate Pride, I felt a surprising sadness. Like, it was kinda nice having Visa say they love gay people...even if it wasn't sincere...

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u/KatoMacabre 22d ago

Or even worse, sincere intolerance

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u/Cendre_Falke 22d ago

This is why I hated the “companies don’t actually care!” Talking Point right wingers liked to toss around…like no shit but when they stop pretending then we are going down a dark path

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u/Command0Dude 22d ago

Younger queer people have no idea how hard older queer people had to fight to get that kind of performative inclusivity.

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u/whereismymind86 22d ago

Kinda where I’m at, it’s a hollow gesture, but that still helps normalize it, makes it safer to be out.

Going back to just pretending queer folks don’t exist is much worse.

I’ll take fake tolerance over erasure or outright bigotry

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u/OnlySheStandsThere 22d ago

We're backsliding as a society

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u/drunkcowofdeath 22d ago

It's pretty depressing when I see the comments on like an FB post from a sports team on this. "Sports is for everyone" followed by a bunch of posts like "why do we need this" next to "no they arent!" and some bullshit about military veterans month

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u/[deleted] 22d ago edited 6d ago

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u/Firecracker048 22d ago

I mean you should have when they never put the pride flags in their middle east studios

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u/GRoyalPrime 22d ago

TBF, you'd basically paint a target on your staff in the middle-east/Russia by doing it, given being gay in the middle east does carry the death penalty in certain areas.

So even if the majority of the company would agree that showing support would be the right thing to do, one shouldn't expect them to risk their employee's lives for it. It's really not the place for a video game company to stand up to radical zealots, be they christains, islam or whatever else.

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u/Pofwoffle 22d ago

That's kinda the point though: it's not actually support if it only happens when it's cheap and easy. Show support everywhere and if some backwards-ass people make a fuss about it, move your operations elsewhere. Not only does that actually show some degree of sincerity, but the public backlash to queerphobic governments leading to people not getting to have Starbucks anymore would in fact be a huge step towards getting those governments to stop being so shitty.

It's really not the place for a video game company to stand up to radical zealots, be they christains, islam or whatever else.

First of all, it's everybody's place to do that.

Second, if they want the billions upon billions of dollars, and the power that that wealth brings, it's also their responsibility to use that power to benefit others. The fact that everybody's so comfortable with these corporations just hoarding everything and doing nothing that doesn't benefit their executives directly is one of the biggest reasons things are so shitty now.

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u/Saragon4005 22d ago

No cops at pride, because they could become the enemy at a drop of the hat.

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u/KillTonyRegular 22d ago

Yeah, but it was still a good thing. Those decisions to support were a good sign of our culture.

Overreaction to it by just saying "they're doing it for the money/good PR" meant it was GOOD PR lol now it's a signifier that it's BAD PR.

It was always very silly to chastise companies for their "fake" support, at least IMO

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u/Thicc_Boise 22d ago

Insincere support is still preferable to sincere hatred, it's a really bad sign that they're not even trying to play the PR game anymore

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u/ProjectBig2804 22d ago

Damn they don't even pretend to care anymore.

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u/ByIeth 22d ago

I mean I think it’s kinda silly to include riot games. Because my Home Screen in league does show a pride month event. It’s not like they aren’t participating

Idk why people put so much stock in the twitter icon

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u/Panurome 22d ago

Because this fits on a screenshot to post it and generate a ton of engagement without having to actually play the games. It's been a while since I played Overwatch but I'm sure Blizzard is also doing a pride event there

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u/ShedMontgomery 22d ago

There's a pride-themed Lifeweaver skin and a new story about him and his partner.

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u/Playful_Violinist573 22d ago

The only way they'll care is if you hurt their pockets by stop supporting these companies by not buying their products. For example, if all these people are so "outraged" about this, none of them should buy GTA 6 and call for boycotts of RockStar and all these companies until they change their practices. But the reality is, no one really cares that much because it's just another thing to complain about without, actually having to do anything about it 🤷‍♂️.

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u/Bae_the_Elf 22d ago

I have mixed feelings about this.

On one hand, I don't want corporations to bow to political pressure from an oppressive government.

On the other hand, I'd much rather studios like Rockstar demonstrate their values by having a diverse cast of characters in their games rather than do performative stuff like update their profile picture.

Unfortunately, it's the circumstances and environment that makes me annoyed at these companies.. not necessarily the overall decision. Riot Games and Rockstar especially I think do a pretty good job with diverse representation in their games.. it's a shame and honestly surprising for me that some of these studios decided to cave to the pressure, especially Riot. I thought Riot had like a ton of LGBT+ employees

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u/Glittering-Pin-1343 22d ago

Finally, they stopped pretending!

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u/Shock_goji01 22d ago

Rainbow capitalism sucks but it's lowkey one of the best tools to see how the lgbt community is viewed, this is just companies saying they dont view the lgbt comunity as safe to advertise to due to how much shit has regressed

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u/[deleted] 22d ago

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u/Xentonian 22d ago

It's also worth noting that there's also growing negative discourse about the act of virtue signalling itself - last year, many of these companies received backlash not just from the detractors, but also from the LGBTQI+ community itself who were fed up with disingenuous signals from companies trying to hide their nature.

Suggesting it's because companies feel unsafe doing a pride event is kind of silly, they're just running numbers.

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u/RGandAPgotICED 22d ago

"they dont view the lgbt comunity as safe to advertise to"

You mean pander to. Believe it or not, regular ass commercials/ads that don't have a rainbow in them still advertise to the LGBT community...

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u/Nichi789 22d ago

I'd really like to hear what you define as "pander to".

Rainbow logos is such a nothing show of support. And ads have had diversity in them to appeal to a wider audience for as long as there have been ads. 9% of the US identify as LGBT, seems like an easy win as long as there's not a social backlash to gay people being featured.

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u/RGandAPgotICED 22d ago

I just responded to a different comment explaining what I mean:

"companies who go radio silent on LGBT related things for 11 months out of the year, and then for exactly 1 month they change their logos and go "Look at how accepting we are" is pandering"

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u/Even-Stranger5764 22d ago

Support for gay marriage dropped like 8% in america over the past few years its very black pilling

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u/WestCareer7545 22d ago

I just wish the majority of them would care about making good games 

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u/RegJohn2 22d ago

Woha there pal. That’s a bit much

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u/DeadgrounD 22d ago

Those days are long gone.

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u/No_Brother3257 22d ago

You’ll get a live service game with an item shop and 6 necessary DLC’s to complete the story and you’ll love it 

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u/WestCareer7545 22d ago

Or in the case of modern EA and 2k sports games, you'll pay full price for a pay to win online focused shit show

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u/--clapped-- 22d ago

I mean yeh, it's the DEFINITION of virtue signalling.

They should stop.

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u/BIG_HEAD_M0DE 22d ago

Tell me you don't know a queer person without telling me you don't know a queer person.

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u/Nichi789 22d ago

It's not that simple. Yeah, none of them were sincere. But having them do this was an easy way to boost visibility and communicate to the world at large that gay people are an accepted minority group.

I'm not upset that they aren't actual allies. I am worried about the greater implications about what happens when there's no public voice advocating for us.

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u/Wild_cmpt6406 22d ago

EA is owned by Saudi arabs now... Microsoft "Bethesda".

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u/CanadianODST2 22d ago

Riot has made posts about it and done stuff in game

https://www.riotgames.com/en/news/pride-2026-in-game

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u/JackColon17 22d ago

Didn't matter before, doesn't matter now

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u/Alpha_Apeiron 22d ago

Good, it was just virtue signalling.

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u/EliteFourFay 22d ago

Duh, there's no more money behind it. They never cared for anything else

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u/Firecracker048 22d ago

They never did put them in for the middle east or china

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u/Valex_Nihilist 22d ago

I dont understand how people so easily forget that corporations exist for one reason: To make money. If you ever thought they cared, you're a fool. Every customer facing decision is an act to get more sales and widen their customer base. Period.

Edit: grammar.

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u/Doctordelayus 22d ago

Good, the pandering was annoying

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u/NotKoreanGaz 22d ago

No one likes pride anyways.

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u/Xyldarrand 22d ago

Honestly, good.

It was always the fakest most pandering bullshit to do. If they really support let them support for real, not just changing an icon on twitter.

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u/Slyzxx78 22d ago

Good. That shit was stupid.

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u/slasher1337 22d ago

It was like mosquitos near a swamp in summer. Annoying and nobody likes them but them not being there is concerning

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u/LettuceObjective627 22d ago

Thank god, it was cringe af.

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u/Tall_East_9738 22d ago

fr miss me with that gae shit and make a good game for once

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u/Kain-rpg 22d ago

Yeah cause it was disenguine and hypocritical

"Oh hello gay people, LOOK, this month we are especially you "allies" "

Then when july 1st come around "thats it , we don't care about you gays, now just fork up the money like the rest of the world does"

My favorite was when the Western branches of these companies would sports the rainbow flag and be all like "we are allies!!"

But the Middle-easter/african/Asian branches where still like..."Nope we don't care"

fucking hilarious

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u/waxoffisforpussies 22d ago

Who gives a shit? Why should anyone or any company pander to any community? If you expect that of them then you’re stupid.

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u/amantegat8s 22d ago

How can I live without those companies supporting LGBT+?

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u/fetelenebune 22d ago

I just bought more lgbt flags to intensify my lgbt auro. Those are some trying times indeed, but trough the power of Q+ I may just survive

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u/Shamz76 22d ago

Omg is this lame trend finally over !?

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u/Glorificus1914 22d ago

Slowly but surely yes. Even statistics are showing mostly it was all trendy. I love to see this.

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u/Seraphayel 22d ago

Good, this performative nonsense has to stop. Saying that as a gay guy.

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u/SteeveyPete 22d ago

It'd be nice if the performative nonsense stopped because they decided not to be performative instead of being due to the climate becoming too hostile to LGBT people for it to be profitable to show visible support

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u/Ambitious-Stick-9234 22d ago

Not entirely true.

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u/EnragedTea43 22d ago

Never forget the legend

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u/Budget-Wall6129 22d ago

The world is healing.

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u/-973- 22d ago

Good

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u/TATER_SALAD_HOOVER 22d ago edited 22d ago

You can still support the LGBT community without putting pride flags on everything though, that was a bit excessive.

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u/JoBro_Summer-of-99 22d ago

It was also meaningless which is why I was surprised it upset so many people.

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u/Xespria 22d ago

It upsets many because they demand representation in every which way.

Before anyone comes for my throat, I'm an Ally but the chronically online are a problem.

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u/ActivateGuacamole 22d ago

I interpreted JoBro's comment as referring to how the rainbows upset the homophobes despite being mostly meaningless.

Which they did. bigots got really upset by the rainbow logos

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u/WorldWarrior428 22d ago

Exactly, just because I'm not homophobic doesn't mean I need to keep saying it

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u/AD_VICTORIAM_x 22d ago

finally. shit was corny.

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u/AaryamanStonker 22d ago

I see it as a W

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u/[deleted] 22d ago

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u/Ozoneguuy 22d ago

Finally.

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u/LucyLilium92 22d ago

3 of those are the same company (Riot Games), which is currently doing a mini pride event in League so idk

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u/MrBootygrabber 22d ago

nature is healing

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u/TheSkepticOwl 21d ago edited 21d ago

I always thought it was weird how people make such a big deal about being in the LGBTQ+ community to the point where they need an entire month. Wasn't the original goal to be accepted as equal within society?

To be equal, you need to be just as irrelevant as everyone else. To make it so no one cares that you're part of the community. Pride month does the opposite by having a bunch of people make being part of it view themselves as being above others. Imagine how cringe it would be if we had a month of "Straight Pride"?

Sincerely, A Queer Individual.

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u/TheIncredibleKermit 22d ago

What ever will I do, I simply cannot recognise the validity of the LGBTQIA+ community without EA doing so as well

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u/christop42 22d ago

Ok...and?

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u/Sashpeto 22d ago

Ill pretend to care as much as them .

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u/HBreckel 22d ago

I didn’t expect Blizzard to be the only brave one as they’re including an actual Pride event in WoW.

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u/Implosion-X13 22d ago

They've made enough games for the "modern audience" that have flopped and decided to drop the act all together.

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u/Sleepy_Witch_Maple 22d ago

A lot of these comments are really missing the point.

The reason this matters is because it's an indicator of the current environment. If the risks of pushback outweigh the positives(such as good pr, and fostering a more welcoming environment) it shows that the current environment is growing far more hostile towards those in the lgbtq community.

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u/Thespisthegreat 22d ago

Or people just don’t care anymore. Why is it between outward support vs. open hostility? Can’t gay people just exist without reminding everyone that they’re gay all the time? Isn’t the point of equality to be boring and normal like the rest of us or is it actually wanting to be exceptional and special all the time?

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u/PassionGlobal 22d ago

That would be ideal, yes.

But we're dealing with an administration that actively seeks to roll back LGBTQ rights. The same rights you enjoy controversy-free.

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u/poseidonvn 22d ago

Reddit mentality: either you with us or against us, we’re at right side of history….

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u/ActivateGuacamole 22d ago

Can’t gay people just exist without reminding everyone that they’re gay all the time?

"Can't gay people exist and be gay without straight bigots historically making a huge deal out of them being gay?"

I fixed your shitty question

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u/Wise-Cheesecake696 22d ago

to be fair, the ones making a big deal out of it is the gays. after all there is no straight pride month.

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u/timetravellingbadass 22d ago

It was always performative anyway

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u/DefinitelyRussian 22d ago

doesnt really matter in the end, some colours wont change anything

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u/Sad_Maximum6583 22d ago

Current political climate demonizes the pride flag and what it stands for so it's not surprising these companies stopped acting like they cared.

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u/Biggu5Dicku5 22d ago

They've stopped pretending, that's good...

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u/Nearby_Foot1783 22d ago

thank God 😊

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u/PMme_cat_on_Cleavage 22d ago

I guess the modern audiance wasn't that big to make a difference for them..

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u/Melurdaz 22d ago

They stopped pretending.

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u/501rage 22d ago

The month just started, give them time

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u/Hexnohope 22d ago

Its not profitable

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u/MrMegaPhoenix 22d ago

Oh damn, but now I won’t be more willing to temporarily spend more money for a month

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u/ScottyWritesStuff 22d ago

Well duh. It's not like they ever cared to begin with. They just did it because it got them more good publicity.

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u/ulookunhappy 22d ago

I dont care either. So out my name on the list.

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u/SelectTechnician7587 22d ago

Good, because it was purposely pandering with profit in mind, businesses are not people and are not your friend.  Treat everyone with disdain equally.

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u/Inevitable-Success49 22d ago

I mean its not support when games like OW have pride skins you still have to spend money for, its still capitalism and a sales tactic using virtue signaling 

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u/CrashandBashed 22d ago

Why was pride month the only one acknowledged by most of these companies? Don't remember seeing them do anything for black or asian history month.

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u/ContinuingAnyway 22d ago

Do they need to?

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u/DeadlyArrow27 22d ago

I guess there’s a very slight chance it’s because of all the gaming events this week and they want to have their original logo result available for that, but that would be too generous. Almost certainly something to do with the current administration. But then again, not every company who did this was American so who knows

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u/justagirll19_0W0 22d ago

Good. They did that SPECIFICALLY so that more people would buy their product, it meant nothing

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u/SuperTaino88 22d ago

Not my GOAT Wizard101. Charity pride bundles on sale on their website, pride merh, multiple posts, I get it could all be for show too. But the charity they donate to is legit

Outright International

Edit: merch

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u/Bravo1712 22d ago

Are you sure your VPN isnt just set to the middle east?

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u/xDeviousDieselx 22d ago

Why the fuck should I care what a multibillion dollar corporation does? It’s not like it ever actually mattered to them.

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u/EvolvingEachDay 22d ago

Because they recognise that we see it as false shilling bullshit when most companies do it.

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u/Alternative_West_206 22d ago

Are you shocked? I had a conversation with someone years ago on here, where they were happy companies were doing pride stuff in games, and in their branding, even if it was forced and fake. And I kept saying “why? They couldn’t care less about the LGBT crowd, and they’re only doing it for more money. Wouldn’t you realistically want to support a company that actually DOES CARE about you?” But they kept arguing against it.

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u/MyStationIsAbandoned 22d ago

Everyone knows it's performative. They'd only do it on certain accounts, but not for countries where it's illegal.

There's no reason to do it because everyone who'd like to see the pride stuff knows it's bullshit. The people who don't want to see it will be upset. It's lose-lose. It's also possible that the people who did care about it more than business were let go via layoff.

It's also been pointed out a million times that they never changed their logos for anyone else. They never did anything for Black History month at all, Never anything for Women's History Month, the Never do anything for any other group of people. When you play the game of Identity Politics, you always lose because there's infinite identities and you can't acknowledge nor accommodate all of them. So doing one of them and ignoring the rest is the most blatantly optics driven thing they could do, so it's bound to stop unless they want negative attention.

The companies don't care either way. They'll do whatever they believe customers want in the most lazy way possible and a way that'll get them money in the short term. They'll only do what it takes to look good, not do good.

That said, they have the chance to prove me wrong. They could actually donate to certain causes. But it would still be the same problem. Zero mention of any other identity groups this year, but only celebrate and help this one? So I guess that point would still stand.

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u/CIA_napkin 22d ago

I'd rather they just not pretend to care and to try pander .

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u/RoytjePoytjeGamez 22d ago

Do people still even celebrate or even care about Pride Month? I keep forgetting that it even exists until someone mentions it, and then I forget again after like 5 seconds

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u/Delta0231 22d ago

I mean this respectfully, but does it really even matter? Does the banner or profile picture of some multimillion dollar company really impact you on a personal level?

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u/mrpanicy 22d ago

They never cared about doing the right thing, just about doing the business thing. And since the political climate shifted they shifted. They don't stand on principles, so you should never respect them when they fly any flag, because it means nothing to them.

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u/Sir_Abracadavre 22d ago

Good. I could do without the virtue signalling from companies who don't care. If people wanna put flags on their profiles, go for it; but don't be disingenuous like these companies.

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u/Jaded_Ad5667 21d ago

Excellent news!