5 LGBT Gaming Facts You Probably Didn't Know

With gaming becoming more and more diverse as the years go on, we thought it would be a good idea to go back and look at some LGBT+ gaming facts (that you probably didn't know, unless you follow us on Twitter @Rainbopress).

The First Playable LGBT+ Character

Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh is an underrated masterpiece of a game, which was quite forward-thinking for its time. The game delves into mental illness, relationships, sexuality, and even a little BDSM. With all this going on, you shouldn't be surprised that the protagonist, Curtis Craig, is bisexual, in an open relationship with his girlfriend, dating a BDSM mistress, and has a crush on his best friend Trevor. By our count, this makes Curtis the first playable LGBT character in gaming!

First Same-Sex Marriage

Just like Phantasmagoria, Fallout 2 was a very progressive game for its time. Nothing highlights this more than the fact that Fallout 2 was the first game to allow same-sex marriage.

Regardless of the player character's gender, you could marry either Miria or Davin. As a side note, I ran a gaming pub quiz with the question "what was the first game to include same-sex marriage?" Every single person put down The Sims, but Fallout 2 beat them to the punch by one year.

San Fierro

The GTA: San Andreas city of San Fierro has its own LGBT+ district called Queens. Based on the Castro District of San Francisco which is a popular LGBT+ District. Notable hot-spots in Queens include "Gaydar Station" and "The Barber's Pole", with Pride flags along the street!

The Rainbow Confederation

Back to Fallout 2 again! In Fallout 2 there was an LGBT faction called "The Rainbow Confederation". It is a group dedicated to gay and lesbian rights in the post-Apocalypse. The Rainbow Confederation was cut from the final version, sadly. However, in the games files, you can find some of the Rainbow Confederation dialogue. Given the direction that the dialog seemed to be going, maybe it's a good thing it never aired after all.

Banned Boss

Streets of Rage 3 (also known as Bare Knuckle 3) is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1994. However, there was a side boss only available in the Japan version of the game. Cut from all other releases 'Ash' is a side-boss that caused some controversy because Ash was an offensively depiction of a homosexual man. Dressed in Leather; feminine run; camp laugh. Its no wonder he was cut from the PAL and EU versions of the game.

Jack Dixon is a gamer, cinephile, and more than likely he's the guy who's ignoring you on Grindr. Tweet him @Jackaphobia. Support his writing on Patreon!