How can we tackle ageism in esports and gaming? ‘I’m an older streamer and sometimes this makes me feel out of place. People tiptoe around age – but it doesn’t need to be taboo’

When people talk about equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in gaming and esports, there is often a focus on gender, race, or ability, and the topic of age isn’t always prominent.

42-year-old Tech blogger and Twitch streamer TwistedHumanoid discusses ageism in gaming with 38-year-old Esports News UK editor Dom Sacco, the value of older gamers and the importance of celebrating them. Interview conducted back in December 2023 (and somehow only going live now – blame Dom!)

TwistedHumanoid on ageism in esports: ‘How do we educate people around the fact we can bring value and impact?’

TwistedHumanoid first got into gaming at a young age, playing the likes of The Addams Family and Street Fighter on the Super Nintendo, and started streaming as TwistedHumanoid on Twitch with her son in 2020. She’s also a tech blogger, part of the Women in Esports Committee, and follows Apex Legends esports closely. Here are her thoughts on ageism:

Obviously nobody wants to be ageist or racist or sexist or anything like that, so I think people tiptoe around this.

When you look at PR campaigns for example, the majority of them go to younger content creators, and I guess it’s because they’re trying to appeal to a younger audience, to go back to ‘the mums and dads’ to say, ‘can you get me this game’ or whatever. 

Equally, I think there’s a huge market out there for the older gamers who still really enjoy gaming. But they might feel like it’s a bit taboo because it isn’t really spoken about, and at the end of the day it’s the parents who buy the games for their kids. It’d be nice to see more relatable campaigns.

When I have got into conversation with mums and dads, they talk about loving playing The Sims or Animal Crossing, and you think, ‘you are the least likely person I thought would play Animal Crossing’. You can see they’re reluctant to almost tell you they bought the game in case of judgement or something. 

But I feel like I’m better to work with now because I have the experience, I’ve worked with Sony and Microsoft and Nokia, and all these really big brands, and I’m well placed to work with them as I’m experienced and professional. So I feel like I’m having to hustle harder than I did ten to 12 years ago.

I know of streamers who don’t divulge their age at all, they might be in their mid to late 30s, but because they look younger, the opportunities are there for them. 

You’re not supposed to put your age on a CV now, it’s considered taboo. Age seems to be such a huge thing. There have been so many redundancies in recent years in gaming, and some of my older friends have absolutely found it a lot harder [to find new work]. I’ve been made redundant twice in the last five years, and the first time, if you look at the list of who was made redundant, they were all older people – possibly to save money [given older people will often be in higher positions/on higher wages]. They kept the younger ones. 

I posted a simple tweet saying I’m an older gamer and would love to work with more brands. I got over 800 follows off of that tweet.

With that tweet, that was what made me realise, this is a way I can really stand out.

There’s a space there for me to share my experience as a gaming mum, an older woman in tech, to educate people and say, actually, there is a problem with age in gaming. But gaming should have no age.

There are so many people out there, it doesn’t have to be taboo. 

I’d say I’ve got more motivation now than I had when I was younger, because I have more of a point to prove. Plus, I want to set a really good example for my kids. And to show that if you work hard [you can do well].

How do we educate people around the fact us older gamers can bring value and impact? 

Gaming events like EGX will have their panels on equality, on cosplay, and all the rest. Where are the age panels? I feel like we’re being slightly left behind. 

It would be really nice for brands and PRs and brands like Twitch and Kick to recognise older gamers have quite a prominent place in the space, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t see why esports personalities have to be retiring in their 20s. I’d like to see us raise that profile and see more of us in that space. 

I definitely feel like when I go to gaming events, I’m very much the mum (laughs). I am literally a mum, but it’s one of those things where gaming is considered for the young people. 

I also think there’s not just an age thing, but a male and female thing. It’s not unheard of for a dad to game and play CoD, for example, that’s not really frowned upon. It’s normal for a dad to play CoD or World of Warcraft, but a mum… it’s kind of like, oh, that’s a bit weird. ‘Why does your mum game? What’s wrong with her?’

My son has had people teasing him at school because they’ve come across my TiKToks and Twitch channel. I think deep down these kids are like, ‘oh that’s actually quite cool, and my mum doesn’t do that’. 

But at the same time, I think there’s that taboo around being an older woman who is a mum, gaming. Outside of streaming, I don’t know any local mums who game. So it’s a bit of a weird one, but I love it and enjoy it. And for a very long time, since 2009 when I started my Girls ‘n Gadgets website (now known as Tech Her Out) I’ve always been a big voice for women in tech. So I’ve taken that into women in gaming.

They may think I’m uneducated and don’t have a job, but it’s the complete opposite. I’ve always held down a full-time a job. I work in software testing and I love it. I don’t see why you can’t have a full-time job and have gaming as a hobby in your spare time. 

My son being teased hit me quite hard, there were a lot of tears the other week because I thought he must be embarrassed and I don’t want him to be ashamed of me.

I want him to be proud of me. But he says he is and thinks I’m awesome, but kids keep coming up to him saying, ‘I saw your mum on TikTok!’

‘At times I feel out of place, but I have fun leaning into the boomer role’

Esports News UK editor Dom Sacco shares his thoughts on being an older person in the esports space and wanting to see age celebrated in diversity discussions more

Coming into esports and setting up Esports News UK at 30 years old, I wasn’t exactly young, and from the off I’ve sometimes felt a divide between myself and younger people in esports.

Now I’m 38 going on 39, and I haven’t felt particularly comfortable attending LAN events the past few years interviewing people half my age! I don’t really want to be doing that in my mid to late 40s. I know it shouldn’t matter, but I can’t help the way I feel.

I know a caster who felt similarly and has left casting behind following these thoughts. I think that’s a real shame given their strong talent, personality and reputation. I think they left way too early.

Others have been brilliant to represent the more mature age groups, like parents of pro gamers, such as Mamabenjyfishy and Caps’ Dad, and Perkz (the teacher, not the LoL player). Some streamers and fighting game pro players and personalities are in their 40s. There was the Silver Snipers esports team (though I felt that was more of a publicity stunt by Lenovo).

Still, I try to see the humour in things, and often lean into the ‘boomer’ box the UK scene has placed me into. 

Sometimes I do see light ageism on Twitter, people being insulted for being ‘old + bald + ratio’ and other nonsense, and while I mainly see it in good humour, not everyone will – and we should be mindful of that, in my opinion. 

A well-known esports host mocked me in DMs recently because I wrote my Twitter DM to them like this, and it made me laugh at myself too: 

‘Hi [name],

[Message here]

Dom’

I too used to take the mick out of my dad for doing things in old-fashioned ways and now I can finally empathise with him! 

I’ve always wanted Esports News UK to be about more than me, and I’m privileged to have some great young freelance writers contributing to the site. If I had bigger budgets I’d have a full-time team by now, smashing out great content, and properly teaching me the Gen Z lingo along the way.

I do quite like the idea of stepping back in the future and allowing someone younger, hungrier and cooler to run Esports News UK, in order to truly fulfil its potential on digital platforms. 

At the same time, I’m a big kid, and I think esports and gaming has kept me younger than I should feel. And I do get along with a lot of people in this industry and have fun covering the scene. A special shoutout to the likes of Nathan Edmonds, who has made me feel welcome and equal despite a large age gap between us, and I enjoy making our ‘Boomer and Zoomer’ esports podcasts together! 

For now, I’m happy, and as we all age together perhaps in time I’ll feel more comfortable. But esports is super fast-moving with new young talent emerging all the time, and I know I may feel more out of place in the years ahead. 

Thinking of football punditry puts me at ease. Gary Lineker is 63, Ian Wright is 60. I know I’m nowhere near their stature, but they have managed to maintain relevance and good humour and can talk to a range of generations through their content.

Also, the mind is a powerful thing, and age is just a number, so they say. Gaming and punk rock has kept me young, and on that note, I’ll leave you with some lyrics from Goldfinger’s ‘Superman’ from that first Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game way back in 1999: 

So here I am
Growing older all the time
Looking older all the time
Feeling younger in my mind

So here I am
Doing everything I can
Holding on to what I am
Pretending I’m a superman

From the archives: Almost half of boomers are gamers

Dom Sacco

Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.

As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.