The online gaming realm can sometimes seem like a bit of a daunting place for women, as streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube – as well as the actual lobbies of online games – are usually packed with an overwhelmingly male contingent. This has led to the uptake of online gameplay among women being a lot slower than it has been for male players.
However, all that is beginning to change, mainly due to the fact that many gaming company executives have noticed the financial incentives available in attracting a whole host of untapped players to their games and platforms.
Here we take a look at just some of the gaming genres which have gone out of their way to accommodate women gamers, allowing them to compete and be entertained on a level playing field with their male counterparts.
Classic games like chess are becoming increasingly popular among women gamers with many following the lead of famous online streaming personalities like the Botez sisters
Classic Online Games Always Open to Women
The future of classic board games and card games such as chess, blackjack, and backgammon were in the balance when the internet age dawned, as people worried that such games would fall by the wayside in the face of competition from graphically superior modern video games. Thankfully the exact opposite has happened, leading to many classic games of the past being revitalized by passionate classic games provider websites and mobile apps. The beauty of such games is that they are largely gender neutral or often feature themes which are appealing to women players. This is further bolstered by such games either being free-to-play online or there being plenty of bonuses and sign-up deals available for women who want to dip their toe into the classic gaming waters. It is therefore no surprise that many women players of games like blackjack, backgammon and chess are breaking through into the online gaming mainstream, such as popular streamers like the Botez sisters and Anna Cramling.
More and more women are hooking up their gaming keyboards and launching themselves into the world of Esports
Games Designed by Women for Women
One of the sure-fire ways to ensure that an online game will cater to the wants and needs of women players is that it is designed by a female team of developers. Such games are something of a sub-genre all of their own and are unfortunately few and far between. That said, there are some stellar titles out there that fit the bill, including the wildly popular Bioshock series and the equally playable Portal. Notable others include Earthlight Spacewalk, which takes gamers into outer space, and Left For Dead that has people scrambling to save their avatar from a zombie invasion.
Life Sims and Strategy Hit the Sweet Spot
Another good way to find out the kinds of genre of game that women enjoy is to actually go out and ask women what their favorite titles are. That is exactly what happened in 2020 as digital marketplace Kinguin quizzed its female users to find out which online games were hot, and which were not. There were some eye-opening results as SIMS 4 came top of the pile, followed close behind by strategy and team games like RUST and Minecraft. Although all-action battle royale games like Fortnite and Call of Duty also ranked quite highly, it is clear that women prefer games that make them think and strategize over ones that expect them to display fast reactions and process endless amounts of action. Perhaps games developers the world over should sit up and take note.
Mobile Games Are Big Hits
Mobile games are increasingly popular with women gamers, as playing them can be slotted into a woman’s hectic daily schedule. Once again, the games that rank the highest from this genre among women are strategy and puzzle based, and consist of titles like Angry Birds, Candy Crush Soda Saga, and Pet Rescue Saga.
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