Exploring how Age is Represented within Contemporary Video Games
We often talk about the importance of an individual’s life story and understanding what activities people enjoy doing. Any activity could be meaningful; it could be anything from hanging up the washing to taking the dog for a walk or reading books through to playing video games. DSDC is an advocate for understading what individual’s enjoy doing and supporting them to maintain these hobbies and activities - or even try new ones! University of Stirling PhD student, Eve Maynard, is taking this to another level. Eve is looking at how digital / video games might support wellbeing for those over age 65. As part of this, Eve has found some very interesting information, in addition to some potential barriers for older adults.
Video games are big business, representing one of the largest entertainment spheres in the UK. In 2026, the video games industry is estimated to be worth over USD$300 billion globally and is now one of the fastest growing markets in the world.
Today, an estimated 3.2 billion people play video games worldwide, a number that is rising every day! Recent years have also seen a shift a change in attitudes surrounding gaming. No longer stereotyped as ‘boys’ toys’, the world of video gaming is becoming a much more inclusive space, with women now making up an estimated 48% of players globally.
Unfortunately, issues of age-based underrepresentation and exclusion within gaming spaces remain very common. Most gamers are younger, for example adults aged 65+ only make up 6% of the player population in the USA. Furthermore, only 25% of adults aged 65+ in the UK play some form of video game, compared to 85% of those aged 16 to 24.
Some research has discussed the potential reasons behind this underrepresentation of older adults within gaming spaces, often painting it as the result of several factors, such as lowered access to digital content and technology, inaccessible game design, or hostile or exclusionary behaviour towards older adults who try and take part.
Vitally, some research has theorised that video game content itself could potentially be exclusionary towards older adults. For many years, there have been in-depth discussions about stereotypical or exclusionary game and character designs. Since the popularisation of gaming in the 80s and 90s, many gamers and researchers alike have noticed widespread issues of sexualised, infantilised, and normative depictions of women. Historically, this was considered a key barrier preventing women from feeling welcome in gaming spheres, reinforcing this traditional idea of video games as ‘boys’ toys’.
While discussions surrounding gender-based representations are prominent, it is not currently well understood how age-inclusive video game designs are, including how characters are depicted based on their age. Therefore, during my PhD studies at the University of Stirling I decided to examine how age is depicted within contemporary video games, and whether this reflects any negative or stereotypical ideas about adults aged 65+.
To do this, I selected a sample of 53 video games released between 2017 and 2024, and I played the opening hour of each game. This is considered the most important part of the game, where players learn about the story and meet the major characters, often deciding whether or not to play the rest. I recorded the number of characters that had speaking roles, and how they were visually and narratively represented in terms of their age and gender.
The completed data set included a total of 63 player characters. These are often the game’s main character or protagonist who the player controls. There were also 853 secondary characters. These were non-playable ‘side characters’ who the player needs to interact with during the first hour of each game. I sorted the characters into broad age and gender categories based on both their visual appearance, and the information provided during the game.
My research revealed some very interesting results! Overall, older people are heavily underrepresented within modern video games. There were no ‘Older Adult’ (65+) player characters at all, with the vast majority (64%) of main characters depicted as either ‘Young Adults’ (18 to 25) or ‘Adults’ (26 to 45).
Age-based differences amongst player characters were quite difficult to analyse because of the complete exclusion of characters aged 65+. These representations, however, became much clearer when analysed alongside gender. For example, female player characters overall were younger than males. 57% of female protagonists were ‘Young Adults’ compared to 35% of males. All three of the ‘Middle Aged’ (46 to 64) player characters were male. In this sense, older characters did not have significant narrative agency within these games. They did not function as playable characters in the game worlds, leading interactions, or playing a primary structural role. Video game protagonists often act as the player’s ‘in-game embodiment’, designed as a relational force, immersing the player in the game’s world. If pre-designed older player characters are uncommon, or completely excluded, this could suggest that older age is not prioritised as an idealistic or relatable character portrayal. This could certainly reduce the appeal of gaming amongst older adults, further reinforcing narratives of gaming as a primarily young space.
Age-based representations were also much clearer amongst the secondary character sample. Overall, only 6% (51) characters were ‘Older Adults’. These characters were most commonly shown as ‘Helpers’ to the protagonist. They were sidekicks, friends, family members, etc. They were rarely involved in the games action, most commonly acting as a mentor, teacher, or guide for the player.
Older helpers were wise and knowledgeable, but were also consistently represented as weak, frail, vulnerable, and ill. Where younger helpers often took an active role in the plot, older helpers were generally sidelined, with their skills rarely shown. For example, there were some cases of older helpers being discussed as powerful mages and wizards, or skilled craftsmen. This was, however, never shown during the gameplay with the players attention often drawn to their frailty – their capability considered secondary, or ‘a thing of the past’.
Older adult characters also commonly took on a villain role. These characters were heavily stereotyped, portrayed as creepy, threatening, and disturbing, often with attention drawn to their visible age, frailty, and supposed ‘insanity’ or ‘madness’. Older villains were also commonly manipulative and were still considered physically weak with their power coming from magic or sorcery, unlike younger villains who were often strong, skilled fighters.
Victimisation amongst characters aged 65+ was often related to stereotypical depictions of older age, e.g. many older characters were portrayed as frail during the games, and some older helpers even died from an illness during the first hour. This could certainly further stigmatise the process of ageing, showing older characters, and in turn older people generally, as inherently connected to illness, death, frailty, and weakness.
These stereotypical representations of older video game characters became even clearer when examining how age-based design interacted with gender. Again, women were consistently younger than men. Indeed, women became more ‘invisible’ as they aged, where the vast majority of ‘middle aged’ or ‘older adult’ characters were men.
Older men were also depicted much more positively compared to older women. Male characters aged 65+ held significantly more ‘status’ than women in the same age group. For example, older men were often kings, military leaders or veterans, respected scholars, magical wizards, or powerful beings. Attention was not drawn to their appearance, but rather they were defined by their intelligence, power, or authority.
Older women, in contrast, were commonly either defined in relation to their familial status, e.g. as mother or grandmother, or were shown in subservient roles – maids, carers, or servants. Even when in positions of power older women were still shown as weak, frail, and often frightening. Their appearance was often used as a subject of disgust or fear, often seen as undesirable, ugly, or insane. This is very interesting to consider, as previous research has suggested that female game characters are often presented as beautiful, yet secondary, with their desirability connected to their youth. While older men often remain in positions of authority and dominance in video games, older women are more excluded, presented as submissive, powerless, and unwanted.
Therefore, overall, while a greater diversity of people are currently playing video games, stereotypical characterisations of older people are unfortunately common amongst modern video game characters.
These representations of older adults can be very harmful, reinforcing ageist social norms, and potentially serving to upset and exclude gamers aged 65+, and older adults more widely.
Research has shown that digital/video gaming can be effective at improving individual well-being amongst adults aged 65+. Gaming can increase enjoyment levels, improve cognitive health, and increase levels of bonding when playing alongside friends and family. These issues of age-based stereotyping, and feelings of exclusion, however, currently make gaming seem like a very unwelcoming space for older adults, with the stereotypical portrayal of older age certainly aiding the narrative of gaming as primarily ‘young’ hobby. Effort must be made to make gaming spaces and content much more welcoming and inclusive to older adults – after all, games are for everyone to enjoy!
~ Eve Maynard, PhD Student, University of Stirling
