Being Black is not a monolith, which is why the culture’s approach to gaming is not something that is one-size-fits-all. That said, Xbox is on a mission to revolutionize the industry by offering a variety of games that fit the many needs of those playing.
Beyond those who play games, there is also a space for those who have an interest in creating them over at the Microsoft-led company. One of the latest games that stem from Xbox is South of Midnight, a spellbinding third-person action-adventure game set in the American Deep South.
Designed to celebrate Black heritage and Southern culture, the project follows main character Hazel, who was created by Compulsion Game’s, Zaire Lanier, who serves as the writer and narrative designer on the game.
“When creating Hazel, for me, it was important to not think of Blackness as a monolith,” she said during the “WOVEN: The Power of Black Voices in Gaming” panel at Microsoft’s Black TechXcellence House during the AFROTECH™ Conference 2024.
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“We come in all colors, interests, sizes, backgrounds… I think we have a lot of similar roots just because of the nature of our existence, but we’re all very different. And so I think for me, Hazel’s kind of a conglomeration of women I know, my friends, people, and like the different experiences that we’ve talked about. My grandparents grew up in the South, my father and grandfather were sharecroppers, and when I used to visit them in the summers, I would be running around the woods. I’d be swimming in the creek. I’d be doing, you know, things I shouldn’t be doing.”
Going for various cultural touchstones with the character, like the fact that she runs track like Lanier’s younger sister, South of Midnight is just one of the many examples of how the future of gaming is changing in the best way possible, becoming way more inclusive than its ever been before.
“We don’t see a lot of darker Brown women in games, that was really important to me, people who look like my mom, my sister, and my father,” she continued. “I was very adamant, like, I want Black representation, but also in a way that I don’t think we often get to see. And our team was very receptive to that.”
For Director of the ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program, James Lewis, his daughter’s initial reaction to Hazel in the South by Midnight trailer helped shape his perspective, realizing all the work that needs to be done to empower Black women in gaming.
“This is important for me,” he told AFROTECH™. “I often think, because I know Black peple make up less than four percent of the industry, so Black women make up an even smaller percentage of this industry. So, in my mind, I think a lot of the things that we do, if we’re able to serve Black women developers, it’s really going to benefit the whole ecosystem and things that we’re trying to do.”
Lewis added, “We try to be very intentional, you know, so partnering with groups like coming coming here to AFROTECH™, and trying to meet people, partnering with groups like Black Girl Gamers and different organizations that have a focus on supporting Black women developers and ensuring that they can show up.
It’s all about giving creators the space and platform to curate projects that are a direct reflection of themselves, which is one of the many reasons Lewis says it was imperative for the company to attend this year’s AFROTECH™ Conference.
“We have a goal to reach every gamer on the planet,” he said. “I firmly believe that we’re not going to reach everybody, unless we empower more developers who can go on to reach those communities. Right now, we know that Black people make up less than five or four percent of the game development community, so being able to tap into excellence, technical expertise, and just amazing Black people who have ideas, who have the talent to be able to create something, but to let them know about the opportunities that exist within gaming… it makes absolute sense for us to be here to make sure that we’re sharing the information about what gaming means, the opportunities that exist, especially at this conference , where we have amazing Black talent who are showing up here.”
“In my mind, this is a conference that we need to be at year, over year, every year because it is important,” he added.
Looking to attend AFROTECH™ Conference 2025? Secure your early bird tickets now — Oct. 27 – 31, 2025, in Houston, TX.
