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Marty O’Donnell, the video game composer behind the "Halo" and "Destiny" series, compared the battles against "woke" ideology in both video games and politics as he discussed running for Congress again in a blog post Monday.
Amid his second bid for Congress in Nevada’s 3rd congressional district and the upcoming remake of the first "Halo" game, O’Donnell argued in a post on DEIDetected, a consumer awareness group of gamers who opposes DEI in video games, that politics and entertainment are deeply connected.
The "Halo" games, centered on humanity’s war against alien invaders, have sold tens of millions of copies, becoming one of the most recognizable and enduring video game franchises since 2001.
"I believe the enthusiasm for the re-release of the original ‘Halo’ is in large part due to the wokification of the gaming industry," he wrote. "After years of gamers fighting the infiltration of DEI in the industry, we are finally winning."
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A person portraying the character Master Chief of the Halo franchise at an E3 gaming conference on June 5, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
"I saw firsthand the beginning of DEI in the industry," he wrote, describing how the industry has faced backlash over games that alienated players with identity politics. "How did gamers react to having things forced on them by non-gamers developing these characters in the studio? They revolted."
O’Donnell also cited games such as "Dragon Age," which began as a dark fantasy series with "Dragon Age: Origins" but whose latest installment, "Dragon Age: The Veilguard," featured transgender and nonbinary characters. The new title drew online backlash for a scene in which a character performs a physical display to atone for misgendering another character.
Several gaming sites concluded that the game was a flop that pandered to modern politics. Forbes senior contributor Erik Kain called the viral misgendering scene "written so poorly that it comes across as self-parody."
O’Donnell also pointed to "Concord," which drew heavy criticism for its flamboyant character designs and perceived pandering to left-wing identity politics.
"Concord, which Sony spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing for nearly a decade, lasted less than two weeks on the market before being pulled offline last year. The game felt like it was created to check DEI boxes instead of appeal to gamers," he wrote. "It was riddled with woke nonsense such as progressive characters and pronouns. It is estimated that less than 25,000 copies were sold during its brief time on the market."
O’Donnell compared the game’s flop to then–Vice President Kamala Harris’ electoral defeat.
"I don’t think it is a coincidence that Concord crashed and burned two months before Donald Trump was re-elected to the White House. The downfall of DEI in gaming feels very similar to the 2024 elections. At the same time that gamers fought and took back the gaming industry from woke leftists, voters fought and took back our country from woke leftists," he wrote. "I am happy and excited that the movement to bring fun back into our games while taking politics out of them is winning. But believe me, the cancer that infected the industry has not been fully removed."
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Composer and audio director for Highwire Games Marty O'Donnell attends the 20th annual D.I.C.E (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Awards at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on Feb. 23, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)
But the fight, he said, is far from over, saying that's why he's again decided to run for Congress. He finished fourth in the GOP primary in his district in 2024.
"We can’t just sit back and let woke policies rear their ugly head again. That’s why I’ve stepped up to run for Congress in my home state of Nevada," he wrote. "I love this country and anything worth loving is worth fighting for."
He urged gamers to keep pushing back and voicing their opinions until companies replace employees who dislike gaming with passionate creators who genuinely enjoy making and playing games, expressing confidence that the industry can be restored to its former glory.
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Video games have been one of the most contentious arenas of modern culture wars. (Adobe Stock)
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Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].
