SweetieGames

Back in 2023, I played through Persona 3 Portable using the female protagonist; I know it’s not really recommended for a first playthrough, but I was so excited by the idea of playing a Persona game from a female perspective. I really enjoyed the game, and it came at a time where I really needed its message. When Persona 3 Reload was announced, I was among the many fans who was eager to see Kotone make a return in shiny HD in a 3D environment, and was disappointed when we were told this would never happen.

Atlus became infamous for providing multiple excuses to not include FeMC in the remaster. It was too much work, required too many resources, and in an interview with Famitsu, Persona producer Kazuhisa Wada said that women have a higher mental age than men, meaning they wouldn’t work as protagonists in Persona‘s coming-of-age stories. This attitude absolutely bewildered fans of the franchise, and spurred on a team of passionate modders to bring Kotone to life in P3R.

This story made me think about the overall attitude towards female leads in video games. In a lot of older games, playing as a female character was a choice in a customisation menu, or not available at all. Of course, there are some outliers (Tomb Raider immediately comes to mind), but video game leads, like video games in general back in the day, were very male centric.

In 2025, the attitude towards gaming has shifted a bit. In 2006, only 38% of gamers were female in the US. In 2024, just under 50% of gamers in the US and UK were female, according to data by Statista. There are big games in the industry that are embracing this change, capitalising on the influx of players who want a feminine touch in their experience. In Fortnite, there are plenty of feminine skins and items for players to choose from. The recent release of the Sabrina Carpenter skin has allowed gamers to enjoy the game in an entirely new way; meeting other fans and doing her iconic dances together, while doing their best to secure a victory royale.

While Atlus claims that adding a female protagonist option would be too much work, some highly anticipated titles are bringing women and their stories to the forefront. It was huge news when the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer dropped, and the game featured the franchise’s first female protagonist that was not optional. The follow up to the the successful Ghost of Tsushima, Ghost of Yotei, is going to follow a badass female samurai. Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is going to allow players to control 4 different characters, one of which is the leader of the Wakandan Spy Network Nanali. This isn’t even including sequels featuring well loved female protagonists; we’re also getting the next instalment of Metroid Prime this year, with fan favourite Samus reappearing on our screens!

Of course, the split between female and male protagonists doesn’t entirely match the almost 50/50 split between male and female gamers, but it was encouraging to read through a list of upcoming highly anticipated games and see so many female leads with stories waiting to be told. I’m excited to see what comes of these upcoming games, and whether we’ll get even more female protagonists in the future.