E3 Gender and Combat breakdown
Feminist Frequency have a breakdown of the female representation in the games showcased at E3 2015: 7 exclusively female protagonists, 24 exclusively male, and 35 where you could choose. Which sounds like progress.
Also interesting is their analysis of how many games depend on violence & combat for their gameplay. Out of 76 games, only 18 were trying something different - and 8 of those were sports/driving. Watching someone get on stage and boast how their game is all about “delivering full guns up combat control” (whatever that is) during the Sony press conference highlights just how reliant on guns games are.
Something like Unravel might be just the antidote - getting “a glimpse of what’s possible when games approach human experience through a lens of empathy rather than one of violence.”