Female characters in video games are not as sexualised as they used to be, including Tomb Raider pin-up Lara Croft, researchers claim.
They have become more realistic and sensible due to feminism and criticism from parents, academics and media, a study suggests.
More women and girls also play and create games, causing a change in “gender stereotypes”.
Researchers at Wuhan University in China pinpointed the shift after studying 795 female characters in 188 video games between 2011 and 2022.
They said females used to wear revealing outfits and had “disproportionate bodies”.
But now even big-busted 1990s icon Croft — whose portrayal by Angelina Jolie was voted sexiest film character — is plainer.
Study author Wenqi Pan said: “Female characters in early games were generally highly sexualised. As well as the early Lara Croft, female characters in the Batman and Grand Theft Auto series also exhibited high levels of sexualisation.
“In contrast, Lara Croft in recent games has become less overtly sexualised and female characters in The Last of Us, Horizon and Spider-Man series generally exhibit lower levels of sexualisation.”
Analysis of 125 hours’ gameplay showed female roles are also more important, like Alex Chen in Life is Strange.
Older games often only had women in bit-parts where they needed rescuing, or had no females at all.
It mirrors the trend in Hollywood, where a record 42 per cent of top films had a female lead in 2024.
Writing in the journal Entertainment Computing, Ms Pan said: “Criticism from parents, media and academia, along with the influence of feminist movements, may also contribute to these positive shifts.
“This may lead to a reduction in sexism and gender stereotypes.”
