I want to make something very clear to my readers; the conservative movement and the gaming industry are not enemies.

Or rather, they don't have to be. 

READ: Anime, Video Games, and Conservatives

Earlier, I saw a video of Matt Walsh declaring that the gaming industry finally has the conservative movement's attention and finishes by suggesting that you keep your children far away from video games. 

Matt Walsh is the first person to highlight wokeness in the video game industry according to Matt Walsh 🤡 pic.twitter.com/EoSxncHpZv

— DDayCobra (@DDayCobra) March 14, 2024

I want to say, very flatly, that Matt Walsh is wrong on many aspects during his whole rant. While it's true that there are sections of the video game industry that are dominated by the left, he completely discounts the fact that it's not the entire industry and, moreover, that gaming's indy scene is so powerful that it will sometimes rival and overcome AAA studios, and these people do not answer to the left at all. 

People do not need to fear video games. Parents need not keep their children away from them at all costs. Video games are not the brain-rotting, violence-inducing, hate machines that cause more problems than they solve, if they solve any. 

The truth is that video games are a very wide-ranging medium with many different stories, influences, types of gameplay, and a wide range of characters and experiences. Anyone could find something they'd love in the video game space, and a wide variety of people do. Young and old, conservative, leftist, ethnicities of every variety, women, men, Christians, atheists, nerds, and jocks all can find something for themselves in the gaming space. 

The left likes to pretend it's the home of diversity, but it doesn't hold a candle to the gaming community. 

So massive is this international community that the gaming industry eclipses the movie and music industry in sales combined. As of this writing, the gaming community is home to 3 billion people.

But to Walsh's point, the gaming industry isn't without its problems. Yes, corporate studios have fallen to the ESG plague just like many other corporations have. Messaging has been a problem in the gaming industry, and lately, the problem in AAA studio-created games has been very pronounced. 

However, this isn't something gamers haven't dealt with before. In fact, gamers are experts at fighting back against the woke left's attempts to influence their hobby. 

You've probably heard of "GamerGate" before but had no idea what it was. 

GamerGate was a consumer revolt within the gaming industry when the gaming press attempted to do what elitists do and use their influence to push certain products over others and reap rewards themselves. You can read more in detail in an article I wrote on the event in the link below: 

READ: The New York Times Is Trying to Redefine #GamerGate, but Here's the Real Story

GamerGate became one of the biggest losses the radical left suffered in the culture war and it's not something it ever forgave gamers for, or forgot about. From time to time you'll still see the left bring it up and attempt to rewrite what happened, but gamers largely remember. 

Recently, gamers have once again united against the radical left's attempts at influencing gaming through a company called "Sweet Baby Inc.," a group I reported on that was discovered by gamers to have infected various games and ruined them with leftist influence. Once it was outed, gamers dragged it into the spotlight and one created a list of games that the company worked on so that gamers could make sure not to purchase them. 

At the time of that writing, the group already had 121k followers. As of the time of this writing, that group is now at over 282k followers. 

READ: Woke Company 'Sweet Baby Inc.' Is Lashing Out Like a Cornered Animal Thanks to Gamers

What you're looking at is what some are calling GamerGate 2. The curation list is more than just a list now. It's a rebuke against radical leftist influence and social justice rules in game creation. But this isn't the only time gamers really stuck it to the radical social justice left. As I've covered many times over the years, gamers have a habit of causing major problems for the moral busybodies that attempt to influence their hobby to the point where publications and studios alike crash and burn due to gamers' spite. 

The reverse is even true, with gamers elevating some studios and games to the point of the studio making a small fortune. 

READ: A Letter to Everyone, Left and Right, Over the Recent Events Surrounding 'Hogwarts Legacy'

Conservatives should be watching the gaming industry very closely, not just because it's an influential medium that influences many, but because it could truly learn a lot from gamers. 

Conservatives tend to be a group constantly on the defensive. While I would say things are improving, conservatives are oftentimes playing with one or both hands tied behind their back. Gamers don't have that problem. They're offensively minded. Just like their hobby entails, their goal isn't just to win, it's to dominate. 

This doesn't mean that gamers are rude, sadistic, or evil. In fact, you'll find that most gamers are kind, considerate, normal people. 

In the end, conservatives and gamers have a lot in common. Whereas conservatives are concerned with local and federal politics and the wider culture, and gamers are concerned with the gaming space, they both share the same enemy and fight it every day. 

Conservatives don't have to agree with everything that happens in the gaming space and it doesn't even have to get involved if they don't want to, but two things need to be made very apparent. 

One, video games aren't the devil, it's just another medium that has good and bad aspects. 

Two, conservatives shouldn't be contemptuous of gamers or their hobby. There's no sense to it and it only serves to alienate itself from one of the largest subcultures in existence, many of whom are members of said subculture. 

My advice is to ignore the advice of people who scaremonger about the gaming community and the industry. Many haven't been in the gaming space long and don't fully understand the people or the games in it. In truth, the gaming space and conservatives could truly be allies in a mutual fight against the influence of radical leftism. 

And I also recommend reading news sites that actually keep up with what's going on in the industry. We often cover gaming here at RedState, and I also tend to write about it for our VIP subscribers. If you would like to join the VIP Program, it's very cheap! Just enter promo code "2024" and you'll receive 50% off your subscription price. Along with articles, you'll get videos and podcasts not available to non-subs. 

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