The 10 Best Lgbtqia+ Video Game Characters

Gaming, as an artform, has come a long way since the early days of Tetris and Pong. The turn of the millennium saw games more openly and proudly tell stories about people of different creeds, backgrounds, sexualities, and genders.

The diversity of modern games better reflects modern society, and has helped make gaming even more accessible for marginalized communities across the globe. Just in time to celebrate Pride Month, we’re taking a look back at the very best LGBTQIA+ characters in video games. In no particular order, here are our top ten picks.

Dorian — DragonAge: Inquisition

If his name wasn’t a dead giveaway that he’d be a truly aesthetic-minded character with a tremendously charismatic energy about him, Dorian’s look should do the trick. One of the many characters you can recruit into your party in DragonAge: Inquisition, Dorian quickly became a fan favorite. Witty one-liners, a dashing mustache, and a tragic backstory all resonated with gamers across the board, and elevated Dorian to a near permanent fixture for a lot of Dragon Age fans.

What really sells Dorian is his smiling nonchalance in the face of adversity, a willingness to discover that is compounded by his tenacity. Only romanceable by a male Inquisitor, Dorian became the first male character in the Dragon Age series to be an exclusive male romance option.

Alchemy — The Elder Scrolls Online

An instant fan favorite upon her introduction in ESO’s Summerset expansion, Alchemy became the first transgender character in the long-running MMORPG. Part of a performance team, and estranged from her sister, Alchemy’s story is further expanded across several popular expansion packs.

Her quest in Summerset deals heavily with coming out and the very real struggles faced by transgender people, but is set to the backdrop of a fantastical world. The Elder Scrolls has included many non-binary and transgender characters before, but none feel as real, or as memorable, as Alchemy.

The character was so heavily praised, in fact, that The Elder Scrolls Online ended up earning the GLAAD award for Outstanding Video Game, an award that seeks to promote diverse storytelling and LGBTQ+ inclusion in video games. It’s no surprise she’s shown up in every subsequent expansion in some capacity. Eccentrically and aesthetically based on the surface, a performer by nature, and able to see the good in everyone, she might just be one of the best characters in the entire series.