Their political positions are rare. Gamers are calling on social networks for a blockade by the far right during the legislative elections.
“Neither in our lives, nor in our games”: two weeks before the legislative elections, associations, streamers and creatives in the video game sector are mobilizing against the far right, an almost unprecedented initiative in an industry that is very reluctant to engage politically.
“It is imperative to limit the presence of the extreme right both in our lives and in the video games we create and consume”pleaded in a press release around ten associations such as Afrogameuses, which campaigns for better representation of black women in the video game industry, Furax, which fights against violence against women particularly in the world of streaming, or the group reflection Game Impact.
“The far right represents a danger for our rights and our industry”argues the collective, warning against “the rise of hatred in game content”. Since the National Rally’s score in the European elections (more than 31%), several players in the video game industry have expressed their concern on social networks.
“The RN and the far right are too frightening a threat for me to remain silent”published Friday on X Jehanne Rousseau, co-founder of the French studio Spiders. “I will obviously vote for the New Popular Front in the legislative elections and call on you all to do so”indicated for his part Julien Moya, creator of Songs of Sennaar, elected in March as best French video game of the year at the Pégases, a ceremony which distinguishes French creations on the model of the César for cinema.
Getting out of the “video game ecosystem”
According to Olivier Mauco, teacher at Sciences Po and specialist in video games and politics, the result of the European elections had an impact “like an electric shock”pushing players in the sector to come out of their reserves. “This is the first time that they have really taken a position on a subject that does not affect the video game ecosystem”he said, a sign that there is “a form of maturity” on these questions.
“But these are only a few votes, it’s not the majority of the industry”tempers the founder of the Game in Society agency. “Tongues need to be loosened”told AFP Jennifer Lufau, founder of the Afrogameuses association, “because the big studios are the sinews of war”.
While they are normally reluctant to show political commitment, for fear of alienating some of the players or damaging their image, some big names in the industry took a stand during the invasion of Ukraine or Black Lives Matter protests. “I think there are more consensual subjects, and others that are much more delicate for them to discuss”regrets Jennifer Lufau.
Assumed position
Because it is rather on the side of the streamers that the mobilization has been the most visible: the videographer Squeezie, second most followed YouTuber in France with 18.9 million subscribers and manager of the e-sport team Gentle Mates, notably positioned himself against the RN in a long letter to his subscribers.
The streamer Mistermv, one of the veterans of the French-speaking Twitch gaming scene (887,000 subscribers), has spoken out several times on social networks to denounce the far right. “I have never seen so much political mobilization on the internet for an election”assures the streamer Ponce (790,000 subscribers on Twitch), for a long time opposed to the far right, “it’s quite exceptional”. However, it is difficult to assess the impact of these positions on the gaming community, part of which rejects all political discourse.
