Some confusion was created when the alt-right, incel “Gamergate” movement laid claim to the “gamer” title. They were fairly successful at pretending to represent “gamers” as a whole, as well as, to some degree, the entire industry. The thing is, they were young consumers, not producers, of games. They’re just about the polar opposite of every game developer I know or have worked with. Which created this weird dynamic where a certain group trying to lay claim to cultural products were actively hostile to - and faced hostility in response by - the people who actually made those products. It’s this weird, toxic culture where they lionized the product while attacking the producers. (Sending game developers death threats is their standard form of communication.)
Now some of the young people indoctrinated into that toxic, alt-right gamergate culture are actually becoming game developers (or trying to), so things may change, though…
For many of the same reasons, I’d imagine. E.g. a heavily male-dominated industry (thanks to decades of gate-keeping), where anyone who works in it is supposed to be “grateful.”
