GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Video Game

In September 2018, GLAAD announced the introduction of a category at the GLAAD Media Awards for recognizing video games. According to Zeke Stokes, the Vice President of Programs, GLAAD had been interested in the video game medium for years. Stokes acknowledged that in contrast to films and television series, video games and especially Triple-A games rarely include LGBTQ characters and themes. In a statement addressing the game's inclusion, GLAAD's Associate Director of Gaming Blair Durkee also criticized the storyline for giving the impression that sexual orientation can be changed and that LGBT individuals can "choose to conform to heteronormative expectations in spite of their identities". However, she defended the nomination of ''Assassin's Creed Odyssey'', acknowledging that progress can be complicated and that in order to motivate video game developers and publishers to continue making "these types of bold moves in the future, we must allow for growth, acknowledge that missteps do occur, and give proper credit where credit is due". ==Winners and nominees==

Following the category's announcement, Polygons Owen S. Good lamented that, given the award's eligibility criteria, indie games inclusive of LGBT characters and themes such as Tacoma, Butterfly Soup, and Dream Daddy could not be nominated. CJ Adriessen of Destructoid was disappointed by the inaugural nominees in 2019, arguing that The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories deserved a nomination given its positive and respectful representation of trans people, Also discussing the category's inaugural nominees, Jay Castello of Rock Paper Shotgun criticized the inclusion of ''Assassin's Creed Odyssey, particularly in light of its Legacy of the First Blade'' DLC. Castello argued that—especially given GLAAD's own criticisms of the DLC—Odyssey "wasn't, in fact, 'outstanding, pointing out how in Overwatch both Tracer and Soldier: 76 are revealed to be queer only in the tie-in comics, outside of the game. she recognized that progress is not a linear process, and described the list as being well-founded. ==Notes==