Women in everyday gaming: a substantial audience missed over and over again

Walk into any gaming ad, or past a billboard, and you're bombarded by a recurring stereotype: adrenaline-fueled explosions, gunmetal aesthetics, tough-talking heroes.

The marketing clearly aims at young men. But in reality: nearly 46% of all gamers worldwide are women. They engage deeply across genres, not just “casual” titles fished out in pink packaging. (Though we rightfully do love those)

Still, many gaming campaigns act like women don’t even exist as players. This article peels back that dissonance, exploring whose stories we’re selling. A moment for inclusion, not just optics. 

The numbers don’t lie

• Almost parity, not a nicheResearch shows women make up 45–46% of global gamers, contributing billions in spending.

• More than mobile and more than “casual”While mobile gaming sees strong female engagement, women also dominate action-adventure (56%), shooters (49%), and battle royales (47%), covering all “hardcore” genres.

• Women invest time and identity in gamingThey spend around 15 hours per week on PC/console games, with 48% saying gaming is a big part of their identity.

Marketing still stuck in the 90s

We’re marketing to the “hardcore male gamer,” despite the audience evolving:

• Competitions to “cute pink” campaignsIn the mid-90s, companies like Purple Moon launched girl-targeted CD-ROMs: exclusive, pink, narrative-heavy, but ultimately marginalized all genders rather than expanding appeal.

• Women still sidelined in blockbustersA Time survey found boys didn’t mind playing as female characters, but many noted female characters were often sexualized or relegated to supporting roles. 55% of boys wanted more female heroes.

The disconnect between play and promotion

This mismatch matters:

• Marketing shapes belongingAds that don’t feature women subtly say, “this isn’t for you.” When box art, trailers, and merchandising treat women as an afterthought, players internalize the absence. And it's not just women in the ads, it starts at a young age where games are still marketed predominantly as something cool and tough and far far away from the barbies.

• The business case for inclusionWomen contribute significantly, some $20 billion annually, and are highly engaged in multiplayer and community spaces. Reflecting them in marketing isn’t just fair, it’s smart business. (Though you have to have a strong tech team to build a good reporting system for those harassing women in the voice chats.)

Marketing shapes more than sales

The way games are marketed has a multilayered working. Besides selling your product to an audience, it influences who grows up believing they belong in gaming at all.

When young girls see ads that treat gaming as “for boys,” it sends a message about where their curiosity, talent, and ambitions are welcome. If they don’t see themselves in the audience, they’re less likely to pick up the controller, less likely to join the community, and ultimately less likely to see themselves working in the industry.

That’s a problem far beyond sales numbers. Because today’s players are tomorrow’s designers, coders, producers, and storytellers. By sidelining women in marketing, we’re not just alienating players, but we’re actively shrinking the talent pipeline that feeds the future of the industry.

Inspiring the next generation

Representation in marketing is the first domino. Show women authentically in campaigns, and you normalize the idea that gaming is for everyone. That

normalization does three critical things:

1. Encourages early play. When girls feel games are “for them,” they start younger, building the same confidence and skill boys develop.

2. Expands career imagination. A child who plays feels empowered to think: maybe I could make games one day.

3. Feeds industry innovation. A broader pipeline of talent leads to more diverse teams, and diverse teams make better, more successful games.

In today’s game industry climate it might sound tone deaf to focus on growing the pool of talent to pick from when there are so many without a job. With all the layoffs in recent years there is no shortage of (existing) talent, but that’s not a given the industry can build on. With junior jobs at a record low, so many having to switch industries and people barely scraping by, there is still a need to look forward. Fixing structural problems and working towards growth will have to go hand in hand. 

By showing women as part of the gaming story today, companies aren’t just expanding their player base, they’re cultivating the next generation of developers, leaders, and innovators who will define gaming tomorrow. 

A new narrative

What would it look like if marketing actually caught up with reality?

• Trailers that feature women and men playing side by side, across genres, without making it a novelty.

• Character spotlights that don’t default to the brooding male lead, but highlight the full roster.

• Campaigns that feature women as the audience for “hardcore” titles, not just lifestyle sims.

• Merch that’s made with women in mind, from sizing to character selection.

The hidden demographic no more

Women have been playing the game for ages, it’s time they win. They play, stream, lead, and invest time and money. The hidden players aren’t women themselves, it’s the industry’s reluctance to see them.

When marketing finally catches up, it won’t just shift imagery, it could very well shift culture. Gaming will gain richer stories, broader audiences, and better futures. Because the players were never hidden. It was our sight that needed adjusting.