Beginning in June, Pride Month 2023 once again celebrates the LGBTQ+ community, and a Fallout 4 player has modified the RPG to help raise awareness for trans rights. Although it doesn't have the same legacy as The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, the fourth entry in the now Bethesda-owned Fallout franchise continues to open itself up to the fan community, with custom mods galore.
There have been some positive shifts in the overall industry as video games try to be more inclusive. This could be titles that offer increased accessibility options for those with disabilities or learning difficulties. It also includes studios and games themselves supporting the LGBTQ+ community through better representations of gay, lesbian, trans, and queer people. It's not just the developers, either, as some people take matters into their own hands to address a few of the major issues that many face.
Nexus Mods user Elianora recently uploaded "Trans Solidarity," a mod for Fallout 4 that celebrates Pride Month by incorporating LGBTQ+ assets into the post-apocalyptic RPG. With a Liberty Pride statue and a PipBoy painted in the colors of the trans flag, the creator aims to bring additional awareness of the "unprecedented erasure" that a lot of trans members are still facing today. The mod comes with some additional workshop items, as well as a Power Armor suit that's been given the colors of the trans flag. Elianora also asks users to donate to some worthy causes, if possible, while they commemorate this time of year the Fallout way.
There is a growing community of LGBTQ+ people within gaming, both as players and as people working in the industry. Over the years, an increasing number of titles have chosen to offer up more diversity, be it through depictions of gay and lesbian characters, such as Ellie from The Last of Us, or giving players the option of creating gender-fluid or gender non-confirming avatars, such as in Cyberpunk 2077.
As for the game itself, fans are looking forward to the Fallout 4 next-gen update, which will see the 2015 release get ports for the Xbox Series consoles and PS5. At the time of writing, there's no official word on when this will be happening, but it should be coming out sometime in 2023. For now, those who have the game on previous-gen consoles or PC can keep the spirit of Pride Month alive in The Commonwealth with Elianora's trans rights awareness mod.
Fallout 4 is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Nexus Mods
