tAt this point, there is much attention being drawn to young men and toxic masculinity. It's time. The 13-year-old, accused of murdering a girl after being radicalised by online manospheres, has turned his attention to the issue through his incredible writing and a ferocious lead performance from teenager Owen Cooper. This week, former England football manager Gareth Southgate gave a speech about his childhood status in the UK. In particular, young men who lack moral leadership turned their eyes to gambling and video games, thereby being separated from society and immersed in the online community of primarily males, where misogyny and racism often exist. While the press of the game has had a kickback to the idea that the game offers a less ideal environment for boys, even those of us who enjoy playing and playing the game must face the fact that game forums, message boards, streaming platforms and social media groups are struggling with intrusive hate speech and violent rhetorical obstacles.
Honestly, we've known this for a while. The 2014 harassment campaign, Gamergate, which claimed to be about the lack of objectivity in game journalism, was a response to the rise in inclusiveness and progressive thinking in game development, and the foundation of the radicalisation of young white men with news outlets such as “Alt-Right” influencers and Breitbart. Many of the online right-wing extremist devices, including massive harassment and victim dox, come from bone-filled cauldrons created by female game developers and game makers of colour for fear of their own lives.
It didn't end there – toxic fandom continues to make dogs dogs in the gaming industry. They face a ton of online abuse and death threats, either by developers of games that have tried to diversify their characters and stories, or simply delaying the launch of their much-anticipated titles. My friend was once an executive producer who could appear in the media for a major game series, but was forced to accept police escorts for him and his family for a few days after games fans opposed some new features in the latest film. Recently, members of the team working on the shadow of Assassin's beliefs have been told by the company, not to mention their role in social media production when targeted and harassed. Shadows received a huge online backlash when it was revealed that one of the two main characters was a black samurai. Trump did not come up with the idea that he misrepresented the concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in order to appease right-leaning voters. The toxic gaming community has been doing this for many years.
The concern for the current swirl is that the nuance of the problem is lost. Even while denounced the gaming community that worships influencers such as Andrew Tate and sneakers, it is important to recognize the very positive role that online communities can play in teenagers' lives, as they disregard women and share the philosophy of “incel” and red pills. As a teenage father with autism, I saw my son thrive in contact with other players in games like Minecraft and Warframe. The last thing that politicians and attention-seeking lifestyle gurus need is the blanket philosophy that boys need to stop playing games or that all games are unhealthy. Our kids need to understand that they are digitally native online, like they are in any physical space, as they are digitally native. For many, there is no clear description. Honestly, if you shook your head how sad it is while perusing Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok, I don't know what to say to you.
What can you do? Of course, the gaming industry has a responsibility to monitor and keep it safe, just like social media companies do. Robust online moderation and the use of AI to monitor the in-game chat of major slurs and subjects is a key part of the fight against problems. But in the long run, the problem with abusive, antisocial young men will not go away until we reach the source. Many young men in 2025 lack a sense of direction, identity and purpose. Traditional careers have faded. Social change challenges historic masculine roles. Mental health services are difficult to access. The city centre is almost dying. Whatever the truth in the matter, whatever we want to say about privilege, the world feels openly hostile to them. And in this vortex, you will become online influencers who point to easily identifiable targets, such as women, immigrants, “Rivtals,” beta men, and yes, progressive video game makers, and take advantage of that sense of despair and anger.
I spent my entire career protecting video games as a medium from people trying to demonize the whole culture, but I can't approach this subject without realizing that the gaming community is dominated by young men who are interested in traditionally violent power fantasies. Young people often come to the game to escape and become virtual superheroes, but their vulnerability and lack of experience make them targets and victims. Society will need multiple great TV dramas to address this pressing issue, but if that is the case, the gaming industry must be a big part of the difficult conversations ahead.
