“We’re not misogynists, we’re just nostalgic”: gatekeeping and reactionary cultures in video games ten years after Gamergate

Abstract

Ten years after the emergence of Gamergate, this article analyses how its misogynistic narratives have evolved and spread over time, adapting to contemporary discursive contexts. Through a qualitative analysis of posts and comments published in 2024 within one of the most active Gamergate-affiliated communities, we explore how gender-based violence is now expressed in more ambiguous and normalised forms, often legitimised by appeals to freedom of expression and nostalgia for an “authentic” gaming past. Using thematic analysis, we show how the identity of the gamer in this sphere continues to be constructed through practices of exclusion and the delegitimisation of non-conforming subjectivities. The article thus seeks to contribute to a critical understanding of the persistence of misogyny in online gaming communities.

Keywords: videogames, gamergate, feminism, game studies, gaming.