‘Queerest game of all time’ Baldur’s Gate 3 celebrated with five award nominations
Baldur’s Gate 3 celebrates queerness (Larian Studios)
At this point, it’s fair to say that Baldur’s Gate 3, the magical role-playing game (RPG) developed by Larian Studios and based on Dungeons & Dragons, has taken the gaming world by storm.
Even seven months after its release date, the nominations keep rolling in – this time, from the Gayming Magazine Awards.
Dubbed ‘the queerest game of all time’, Baldur’s Gate 3 features large amounts of LGBTQ+- friendly and sex-positive content, which has resonated with queer gamers across the globe.
For the fourth year in a row, Gayming Magazine are holding their annual awards, showcasing the most outstanding games with queer content in the industry currently, and Baldur’s Gate 3 has been nominated for five awards, putting them in the lead for most nominations.
Some of the categories for the awards are: Game of the Year, The Gayming Magazine Readers Award, The Authentic Representation Award, Best LGBTQ+ Character, and the Industry Diversity Award.
The awards will be broadcast live on Gayming Magazine’s TikTok and Twitch pages on April 7, 2024 at 7:00PM GMT / 2PM ET.
The Game of the Year nominees in full:
- Baldur’s Gate 3 – Larian Studios
- Final Fantasy 16 – Square Enix
- Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo
- Thirsty Suitors – Outerloop Games / Annapurna Interactive
- Spider-Man 2 – Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical – Summerfall Studios / Humble Games
Best LGBTQ+ Indie Game nominees:
- Coral Island – Stairway Games / Humble Games
- In Stars and Time – insertdisc5
- Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical – Summerfall Studios / Humble Games
- Tchia – Awaceb / Kelper Interactive
- Thirsty Suitors – Outerloop Games / Annapurna Interactive
- This Bed We Made – Lowbirth Games
LGBTQ+ Geek Entertainment Moment of the Year Award
- Doctor Who: The Star Beast – Bad Wolf & BBC Studios
- Harley Quinn – DC Studios & Warner Brothers Animation
- Nimona – Netflix & Annapurna Pictures
- Scott Pilgrim Takes Off – Netflix
- The Last of Us: Long, Long Time: HBO
- The Legend of Vox Machina: Season 2 – Amazon Studios & Critical Role
Gayming Magazine Readers Award:
- Baldur’s Gate 3 – Larian Studios
- Final Fantasy 16 – Square Enix
- Goodbye Volcano High – KO_OP
- Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo
- Tchia – Awaceb / Kepler Interactive
- This Bed We Made – Lowbirth Games
Authentic Representation Award:
- Baldur’s Gate 3 – Larian Studios
- Coral Island – Stairway Games / Humble Games
- The Sims 4 – Maxis / EA Games
- The Expanse: A Telltale Series – Telltale Games / Deck Nine
- Thirsty Suitors – Outerloop Games / Annapurna Interactive
- This Bed We Made – Lowbirth Games
Best LGBTQ+ Character:
- Aloy – Horizon Forbidden West
- Dame Aylin – Baldur’s Gate 3
- Dion Lesage – Final Fantasy XVI
- Jala – Thirsty Suitors
- Shadowheart – Baldur’s Gate 3
- Tchia – Tchia
LGBTQ+ Streamer of the Year:
- Apothicdecay
- Eevoh
- Elix
- EspeSymone
- Halfmoonjoe
- MysticKittenn
- Sheilur
- SpringSims
Industry Diversity Award:
- Humble Games
- Larian Studios
- Latinx In Gaming
- Qweerty Gamers
- Roll7
- Women In Games International
Best LGBTQ+ Contribution to Esports:
- Bailey McCann
- Bethany “Indyburgh” Pyles
- Cora Kennedy
- Emma “Emzii” Rose
- Slaypex & Kylie Gabor
- Team Overture
Wonderfully, Baldur’s Gate 3’s support for the queer community doesn’t stop at in-game kisses and spicy scenes. It sports a largely LGBTQ+ cast as well, who are frequently vocal about LGBTQ+ rights and their own identities. Recently in an interview with The Gamer, actor Neil Newbon, the voice of fan-favourite Astarion, said the support from the community was “amazing, humbling and something I wasn’t prepared for, but I love it”.
He went on to say: “I get a lot of trans men coming up to me, which is amazing, not just for Astarion, but [for Resident Evil Village‘s] Heisenberg as well.
Doubling down on his support for the LGBTQ+ community, Newbon said: “The big thing for me identifying with Astarion is that he’s pansexual… he’s attracted to anybody he’s attracted to, and he loves anybody who he will love.”
As the game’s success continues, Larian Studios continues to treat fans with deliciously fruity content. In the recent update, the developers added in a new array of saucy kissing animations.
Everyone say, “thank you Larian”.
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