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What Is The 'Woke Content Detector?' Steam's Curated List Of Woke Video Games Explained
For some people, the battle against the so-called woke mind virus is a daily struggle. They can't help but see woke content everywhere, whether it's TV shows, movies, or video games.
Earlier this year, to help fight the never-ending battle against wokeness, a group of gamers banded together to create the Woke Content Detector Steam group to call out games that they see as containing overtly woke content. So, how's the battle going? Here's what we know.
What Is The 'Woke Content Detector?'
In March 2024, the Woke Content Detector curator and community group were founded on Steam. The group, which boasts over 3,000 members as of September 2024, collects and reviews games based on how woke they are. If a game has woke themes or messaging, they slap it with a "not recommended" review, while games without wokeness get a "recommended" label.
The definition of wokeness is pretty flexible and the people over at the Woke Content Detector have made sure to cover all their bases with a wide list of definitions for woke, including, "pro-LGBTQ+ messaging, pro-DEI messaging, pro-climate action messaging, pro-communism/socialism messaging, pro-abortion messaging" and much more. So far, the list has curated over 1,400 games, all of which are available not only on Steam, but in an extensive Google Doc.
How Is Social Media Reacting To The 'Woke Content Detector?'
As is often the case with anything discussing wokeness, the people of social media have a lot of opinions on the Woke Content Detector. Most people seem critical of the list, resulting in a lot of posts and memes where people call out the reasonings behind certain games being added to the list. For example, Disco Elysium's addition to the list for featuring discussions of communism, despite the group being unable to figure out whether they were for or against communism.
Another example comes from Henry Hoffman, developer of the game Paper Trails, which was added to the list for featuring a woman who goes to university. Some people are flipping the list on its head and posting memes about using the "not-recommended" section of the list to find games to play, rather than games to avoid. Others are sharing seemingly ironic memes about how devastated they are to find their favorite games on the list.
Overall, the list isn't being taken that seriously by most people. However, it does offer a fun scroll-through for those looking to see if their favorite game has been deemed woke or not by the anonymous members of the Woke Content Detector group.
For the full history of the Woke Content Detector, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.