As a child, Emma Morrison, SOC/BA ’25, remembers wearing out her navy blue Nintendo DS trying to catch ’em all.

But just as her interest in gaming began taking shape through Pokémon, it soon felt like game over. Video games, she began to think, weren’t for girls.

“It was such a broader message from the world that this is ‘a guy’s thing,’” said Morrison. “I was like, ‘Oh, I have to stick to my American Girl dolls and my Monster High dolls.’ After my DS, that was really it.”

While female-identifying gamers make up 48 percent of about 212 million video game users around the globe, according to a 2023 Statista survey, the online gaming community hasn’t always been a welcoming place for non-male gamers.

In a 2022 poll by FandomSpot, a pop culture website, 76 percent of 2,000 women surveyed said they disguise their gender while playing online to avoid harassment. The survey also found just one in five women feel comfortable talking to others online through voice chat, while 25 percent of women players reported they stopped playing specific games due to the abuse they’ve received online.

At AU, Morrison founded Girls Who Game in 2023 to help make the gaming community more inclusive. The student group creates a safe space for female-identifying and nonbinary gamers at AU.

While the group holds some events, Girls Who Game boasts a thriving Discord server, which helps connect Eagle gamers to discuss their favorite games and play online with other students without fear of harassment.

“It’s a very welcoming and [safe] space to be yourself and talk about experiences you’ve had,” Morrison said. “I think that is a very unique thing you don’t encounter in many places.”

Morrison resumed gaming in 2020 while physically isolated from friends. When she was invited to play Among Us, she was hooked. It wasn’t long before she joined a Minecraft server with a group of mostly female friends. And eventually, she started playing Valorant—a first-person shooter that’s become her favorite game. Logging on to play is a key part of her week and AU experience. 

“I like being able to immerse myself in different worlds and focus on something other than real life,” said Morrison, who is also the president of AU Esports. “Another part of it is the community. If I was always playing Minecraft by myself, I’d get bored. If you’re running around exploring with someone else or a few other people are fighting the Ender dragon [with you], it enhances your experience.”

Game on! Here are five video games Girls Who Game recommends checking out:

1. Overwatch 2: Blizzard Entertainment’s free-to-play sequel to a beloved game features colorful animation and a diverse array of characters. Gameplay splits characters into two teams of five to battle it out on the map.
2. Detroit: Become Human: Created by Quantic Dream, this award-winning adventure title is set in the not-so-distant future of Detroit City in 2038. While the introduction of androids into everyday life has revitalized the city, every decision has implications for your character, the city, and beyond.
3. The Sims: Customize your character’s identity and build a new life in Sim City. This title is a Girls Who Game favorite it simulate situations real-life situations.
4. Genshin Impact: This open-world, anime-style game situates your characters in the magical world of Teyvat, where you can explore seven nations ruled by deities.
5. Valorant: Developed by Riot Games for PC, this free-to-play, first-person shooter pits teams of five players against each other for strategic survival in round-based combat.  

Are you a female-identifying or nonbinary gamer at AU? Learn more about Girls Who Game.