Lover’s (Dis)comfort: considering the feminist potentials of romance in the digital game

Brierley-Beare, Amy

Lover’s (Dis)comfort: considering the feminist potentials of romance in the digital game

Brierley-Beare, Amy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0675-3268 (2026) Lover’s (Dis)comfort: considering the feminist potentials of romance in the digital game. Feminist Media Studies.

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2026.2745931

Abstract

Romance in mainstream gaming has rapidly increased in visibility over the last decade. Recent titles like Baldur’s Gate 3, Starfield and Dragon Age: The Veilguard have included optional romance features as selling points in promotional campaigns. Despite this rise in popularity, discursively romance is still a confused and contested term amongst scholars, players, developers, and games journalists. It is used as a catch-all term to refer to a diverse range of social interactions and gameplay mechanics. Some scholars have argued that romance has been a gateway for transgressive, feminine, and pro-social play. As Anastasia Salter states, the decision to feature romance in play can be viewed as an act of “feminist game design”. However, without a discerning understanding of the different presentations of romance within gaming it is challenging to recognise where feminisms are happening and where they are distinctly not. Through an exploration of how romance mechanics navigate issues of consent, objectification, and “pick-up” ideologies, I argue romance in the digital game is not inherently feminist, though still maintains transgressive potentials. Recognising where feminism is potentially happening is especially important as “romance” is becoming increasingly visible as a feature of the AAA game. Without recognising the potentially harmful and troubling mechanics baked into prominent examples (some of which are considered templates for their development teams) there is a risk that damaging presentations will continue to be normalised and expected within these styles of romantic representation.