There are plenty of reasons to take part in a virtual Pride Parade. Maybe you aren’t out of the closet yet, maybe there are no parades where you live, or maybe being loud and proud would put you in danger. ESO offers an outlet to express yourself even in those circumstances, using the cover of in-game anonymity to finally be free about who you are while feeling welcomed into the wider LGBTQ+ community. For many, they might even be experiencing an occasion like this for the first time.
It also takes a stand against toxic gamers, declaring that they are not welcome and never will be. Marching through the streets of Vivec with rainbows, banners, and fireworks going off around you is a bold statement that says we are here. A lot of gamers are LGBTQ+, to deny that is to deny the truth. Games aren’t just for cishet white men, and virtual parades like this shatter that notion with triumphant pride.
This year, that was made even more clear by the direct collaboration between developer Zenimax, fundraisers like moonxdaughter, groovyfoxtrot, Sindradottir, and Zharwyn, as well as Pride Parade community organiser, Twitch streamer Locke. Everyone raising funds for the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ charity, was given a copy of the Necrom expansion and Pink Torchbug pet to give away to their audiences.
The team worked with organisers to ensure that the servers would withstand having so many players in the same instance, meaning that this year, the parade wasn’t split into separate groups as people marched through Vvardenfell. For 45 minutes, hundreds of players celebrated who they are stuck together, through Gnisis, Balmora, and eventually Vivec, all of which was made possible by a developer that isn’t afraid to help the queer community in a far more meaningful way than just cosmetics.
It’s important to look at how Zenimax handled things. It didn’t take control of the community and commodify the event, but offered players and organisers the tools to ensure that it went smoothly and then let them get on with it themselves. That sent the message that Pride is not only welcome in its game, but that it will do all it can to ensure it happens. This, like watching hundreds of ESO players stand together proudly and openly, is a message to bigots that they are nothing but a quiet nuisance, meaningless background noise to be ignored. Even the developer of the game you are spouting your hatred in does not support you.
Locke echoed this sentiment during their stream, asking all participants not to engage with anyone in the chat who was posting hateful comments. Instead, they asked us to take screenshots and report bigots to Zenimax after the fact, achieving two important things—suffocating anti-LGBTQ+ trolls of the air they thrive on, and then seeing them banned from a game they’ve no doubt spent countless hours in, likely tormenting others. The mere display of hundreds marching across Vvardenfell is enough of a reply to any comments they might make in chat, but any punishment is just icing on the cake. Clearly, they’re in the minority here, and they definitely aren’t welcome.
ESO’s Pride Parade has become an annual event, something the community does to bring its queer players together across all platforms and servers year in and year out. But it’s so much more than a week of celebrations. These parades have long-lasting and important effects, making ESO as a whole a much more inclusive online space. It isn’t just a week of being who we are openly and proudly, but a doorway into a community that is forever accepting and comfortable. So many more LGBTQ+ guilds have been cropping up, bringing queer people together beyond Pride Month and the marches. And because of these loud events that push the servers to their limits, they know they’re not alone, bringing confidence to voices that are so often shut out by gamers.