Fan base isn't regressing - there's just an increasingly polarized contingent that won't stop wailing about every snub.

Overall the gaming fan base is growing because of this embracing of diversity.

I feel like that's just a very loud minority among those who play games. As you've so stated, the majority of people who play these games either do not care for politics in video games, and another subset prefer it that way.

If even the greediest of companies in the video game industry keep doing that, that means they've analyzed the market and having politics in video games might have between no to a positive impact on sales.

That hatred comes from like 0.1% of gamers, if that.

No, the fanbase is regressing, but they're also not getting products that suit their tastes. There's a lot of stuff to play that's different, and the people that removed go back to the dwindingly bad quality AAA Live Service slop. They're not for us. When the AAA bubble bursts, they'll fuck off to another form of media.

Sure, it is largely the fanbase, however I also think that the game industry seems to sometimes do somewhat of a "woke-washing", meaning opically supporting the LGBTQIA movement because of financial, shitstorm-prevention or other reasons than just wanting to create more diverse and inclusive games.

For instance I like Hogwarts Legacy, but it also takes place in the Victorian era, and it seems to project the modern tolerant society ideals onto the wizarding world of that time.

Depicting the society as inclusive and diverse is somewhat history revisionist. If you play as a non-binary or trans person at that time, then you should have to deal with prejudice and marginalization, otherwise it is just "woke-wash" the history.

So, IMO there are some cases, especially in historic (fantasy) games, where injecting modern ideals and standards might not fit or needs to be better addressed, than just let it be cosmetic.

They shouldn't do a halfhearted job.

Yep, the vast majority of the games I buy at this point are coming from indies.

The main issue is large studios want to make a safe game that does everything and appeals to everyone. Meanwhile, indies are making games that are fun-first and targeted at specific audiences, rather than just the mean.

Games like Factorio could be made by a big studio, but it wasn't, because it don't have mass appeal. Meanwhile, if you are in it's target audience, it is a 10/10 game. And it isn't like the studio had to shovel $200m into a pit to make this 10/10 game.

I mean, GW2 (by Arenanet, owned by NCSoft) has had a lesbian couple since the first Living World season, and had a non-binary character in the 3rd expansion. They have inclusivity in a way that doesn't feel hamfisted or marketed; it's just in there because they feel like their world should have all sorts of people.