Xbox and Dontnod’s new game ‘stars first transgender game hero’

Xbox has announced Tell Me Why, a narrative adventure from Dontnod Entertainment which it said stars the first playable videogame hero from a major studio who is also transgender.

The Life is Strange developer has worked closely with LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD to create a game with an “authentic representation” of the trans experience, as well as a genuine, multidimensional character, it said at the X019 event.

Set in small-town Alaska, Tell Me Why puts players at the heart of a mystery in an “intimate, true-to-life story” where twins Tyler and Alyson Ronan use their bond to unravel memories of a loving but troubled childhood.

“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,” said game director Florent Guillaume in a prepared 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.”

Tyler and Alyson are both playable characters and equal heroes in the story, Guillaume said.

“We love them both and we are especially grateful to Microsoft for its full support, openness and help regarding Tyler’s identity and character, as a transgender man.”

Nick Adams, director of transgender representation at GLAAD, said Dontnod has created “a fully-realized, endearing character, whose story is not reduced to simplistic trans tropes.”

Tell Me Why will be released across three episodes in Summer 2020 for Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass and Steam.