New Xbox Game Makes History By Featuring Transgender Protagonist

A major gaming studio has made history by featuring a transgender protaganist in an upcoming mystery adventure game.

Tell Me Why, created by Xbox Game Studios and DONTNOD Entertainment, the studio behind the hit franchise, Life is Strange, follows the story of twins named Tyler and Alyson. The pair use their "special bond" to unravel the mysteries of their troubled childhood. The game will be set in a "beautiful small-town" in Alaska, and will feature true-to-life characters, mature themes, and gripping choices. Tyler and Alyson are both playable characters in the story, and Tyler is transgender.

"The core mechanic of the game is the special bond Tyler and Alyson share and is also a theme strongly anchored into the DONTNOD storytelling approach," Tell Me Why game director Florent Guillaume said in a press statement.

"Over the course of the story, players will explore the identical twins' different memories of key events and choose which memory to believe. Ultimately, the choices players make determine the strength of the twins' bond -- and the future course of their lives."

According to DONTNOD, the company worked closely with Microsoft and GLAAD to shape Tyler as an authentic representation of the trans experience, as well as a genuine, multidimensional character in his own right. Tyler is voiced by trans actor August Black.

"Microsoft and DONTNOD have approached Tyler with a real commitment to authenticity," said Nick Adams, Director of Transgender Representation at GLAAD.

"Tyler is a fully-realized, endearing character, whose story is not reduced to simplistic trans tropes. Creating a playable lead trans character - and taking such care to get it right - raises the bar for future LGBTQ inclusion in gaming."

Tell Me Why was revealed on Thursday at the Xbox X019 celebration in London and is set to be released in the Summer of 2020.

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