This is not a joke whatsoever: LGBTQ media-advocacy organization GLAAD has awarded The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset with its first-ever award for Outstanding Video Game during its 30th annual GLAAD Media Awards ceremony. TESO beat out a number of other titles, including Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, and The Sims Mobile, largely thanks to its questline titled “Manor of Masques,” in which “players were tasked in helping to reunite a transgender woman with her estranged twin sister.”
According to Gamasutra, “the game was selected for how the questline dealt with the difficult topics of coming out and acceptance in a way that reflected the lived reality of many transgender people today.” Discussing the award, GLAAD Chief Programs Officer Zeke Stokes said that “The video game landscape is ever-expanding, and it’s critical that all players see themselves represented fairly and accurately in the content. LGBTQ people are an important and growing part of the gaming community, and we are so proud to honor an impressive slate of nominees in this first year.”
