10 Most Influential LGBT Characters In Video Games

While Soldier 76 being gay was perhaps more ‘surprising’ than Tracer, she’s still definitely the more influential queer character from Blizzard’s popular shooter. And disappointingly, based off the vitriolic reaction from certain corners to Soldier 76’s coming out, having an LGBT character in a shooter is still apparently a surprising inclusion.

That’s why Tracer being a lesbian is so important. Many will just shrug her sexuality off and get on with shooting people in the face, and that’s ideal; she was made to shoot people in the face. The very fact that Overwatch has no narrative and yet still made it explicitly clear that their cover star is a lesbian is huge.

It can be difficult find games with female leads, and finding queer female leads is even harder. Though you do have to dig around in the extra shorts Blizzard sporadically release to find her story, once you do it’s as clear as day. There’s no hushed whispers, subtle hints or innuendo, it’s there in black and white: Tracer is gay.

Her sexuality is a minor point in gameplay, bordering on irrelevant. But it’s this ‘get on with it and shoot people in the face’ attitude that makes her portrayal so important.