The Twitter account for E3, one of the most popular annual video game events, tweeted today to its more than 2 million followers with a link to an article titled “The Games We Play! 25 Online Games That Women Enjoy.”
E3 called the list a “great list of games women gamers are playing,” but it only took a few hours for the tweet to blow up, and not in a good way.
Within four hours, the Tweet was “ratioed” by users, leaving it with more than 4,700 replies and almost 7,000 retweets, including hundreds of quote tweets.
Not only was it because of the strange tweet, but also because the article from pop culture and lifestyle outlet Parade felt completely out of touch and condescending to gamers across the board, especially women.
The article listed 25 games that are supposedly “free to play,” although games such as Overwatch, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Sayonara Wild Hearts are included. While these games are great, none of them are free to play, with an Apple Arcade subscription costing $4.99 and AC costing $59.99.
The majority of the list is made up of mobile games, ranging from Candy Crush and Bejeweled to Kim Kardashian: Hollywood Adventure and Star Chef: Cooking Game, along with several others pushing some very stereotypical themes when it comes to how women are perceived in gaming spaces.
E3 responded to the original tweet, apologizing for putting a spotlight on an article that highlighted those stereotypes.
“We messed up,” the brand said. “We are taking down the post and apologize for perpetuating a harmful stereotype. We will do better.”
The Parade article has also been removed or delisted from the main website since E3’s tweet was removed.
