Cornerstone Interactive Studios CEO Lisette Titre-Montgomery declared that video game executives have surrendered the video game industry to “angry racist and sexists.”
Lisette Titre-Montgomery via Google for Developers YouTube
Titre-Montgomery, who according to her LinkedIn profile began working in the video game industry in 2005 at EA and has worked at Backbone Entertainment, Ubisoft, and Double Fine Productions took to X where she wrote, “The numbers don’t lie. ‘Wokeism’ is just sparkling profits.”
The Psychonauts 2 Art Director added, “Beware Spineless Gaming Execs: We are coming for that money you left on the table surrendering your communities to angry racist and sexists. Their poison is in your soil and you will never get it out. Time for the new era of gaming!”
Lisette Titre-Montgomery on X
Her comments came in reaction to a post from Kahlief Adams, the founder of the podcast Spawn On Me with Kahlief Adams. Adams cites a Newzoo survey he claimed he worked on while he was at Intel around 2020.
As Adams notes in his post the sample size for the survey is “kind of small.” In fact, according to the survey only 1,824 individuals participated and it notes they were “recruited.” It also notes all the individuals are located in the United States and that they are between the ages of 10 and 65.
The survey then notes they applied this ridiculously small sample to what they believe was going to be 2.7 billion gamers in 2021.
A screenshot from Psychonauts 2 (2021), Double Fine Productions
On top of all of this, Intel’s Gaming and Esports General Manager Marcus Kennedy appears to indicate the entire survey was conducted in order to push a diversity and inclusion agenda in gaming.
He writes in the introduction, “The common misconception that all gamers are young, white males could not be further from the truth; practically everybody engages with games in some way, shape, or form. As gaming continues to grow in popularity, so does its ability to connect people across geographies, generations, and more.”
Kennedy continues, “However, there are many challenges to overcome when it comes to representation and diversity in gaming. Intel is constantly looking at how to best serve the gaming community. We know that there are huge visibility, technology, and accessibility gaps impacting marginalized and unrepresented communities.”
A screenshot from Forspoken (2023), Square Enix
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Furthermore, he seemingly reveals the entire survey was conducted to address this, “In order to address this in real, impactful, and sustainable ways, Intel collaborated with Newzoo to gather relevant and actionable data.”
He concludes his introduction writing, “Diversity and inclusion efforts are a top priority for Intel, and this report is representative of Intel’s desire to better understand its diverse global customer base. As part of that continued commitment, Intel is taking key learnings from this report and shaping current internal and external programs to better serve gamers from all backgrounds and walks of life.”
A screenshot from Alan Wake II (2023), Remedy
It seems apparent this survey is not actually done to show any kind of real data, but rather an attempt to shape a narrative around gamers. As novelist and pop culture analyst Brian Niemeier noted in a recent blog post, “polls now exist more to shape behavior than quantify it.”
This introduction by Kennedy appears to prove that assertion and completely discredits the survey.
A screenshot from Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (2024), Rocksteady Studios
Nevertheless, as for the survey’s finding it claims that “half of U.S. gamers claim not to play games they felt are not made for them, which represents a big opportunity for publishers and developers to meet those needs. Video games with more diverse characters naturally appeal to a broader group of gamers and tend to increase a gaming genre or franchise popularity across a wider audience.”
It also asserts, “a significant share of gamers in the U.S. feel game companies should take a stance on societal issues, irrespective of the respondent’s race, gender identity, sexual orientation, or having a disability.”
“Sitting on the fence for certain issues may seem like the safer option but taking an active stance may lead to increased engagement and revenue among the diverse gaming audience,” it states.
A screenshot of Saints Row (2023), Volition
Not only does this survey appear to be attempting to shape a narrative and agenda rather than attempting to quantify gaming behavior, it does not seem to have aged well. As recent evidence indicates gamers are not interested in diversity and inclusion. Some recent examples reveal that gamers rejected Saints Row and Embracer Group shut down the developer behind it Volition.
Warner Bros. Discovery recently reported that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League performed poorly, Square Enix shut down Luminous Productions after Forspoken failed, and Remedy Entertainment shared that their most recent release Alan Wake 2 has not broke even yet despite being its fastest selling title.
A screenshot from Psychonauts 2 (2021), Double Fine Productions
Titre-Montgomery addressed these failures writing on X, “Sure….. had nothing to do with bad investments in saturated markets and the rejection of live service models. Oh Sweetheart…. I know math is hard…”
Lisette Titre-Montgomery on X
What do you make of Lisette Titre-Montgomery’s claims?
That clown is free to pursue to the woke market. It will be funny to see her game flopping whenever she puts one out.