7 Video Games With Black Leads You Can Play Right Now

It's no secret that the video game industry tends to be pretty white-washed, and few games feature Black protagonists. Despite people of color making up a good portion of the gamer demographic, video games aren't often created with them at the helm, and frequently feature Black characters in stereotypical roles with harmful depictions.

While the industry has made progress over the years, only a small number of games released in the past few years feature Black characters in the lead. Here are some that are available now for current and previous generation consoles.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales is probably one of the most obvious games featuring a Black lead. The game follows the comics' Black Spider-Man a year after the events of Marvel's Spider-Man. Miles has been bitten by a spider and developed the same genetic mutation as his mentor, Peter Parker. Now, he's moved to Harlem and taken on the role of the titular hero in this action adventure game. Spider-Man: Miles Morales is available exclusively for the PS4 and PS5.

While The Walking Dead is often associated with the popular television series from AMC, Telltale Games' The Walking Dead video game features Black protagonist Lee Everett instead of the white leads of other iterations of the franchise. Lee takes young Clementine under his wing and cares for her as they navigate their way through the zombie apocalypse. This game is available on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Another recently released game, Deathloop features a variety of characters with different backgrounds. Colt Vahn is the game's lead, taking down the visionaries in an effort to break the seemingly never-ending time loop the player is stuck in and escape Blackreef. The game is currently only available on PlayStation consoles but will later be ported to the Xbox.

Apex Legends is unique in its cast of playable characters — particularly because it has two Black female characters and one Black male character. Rarely do video games feature Black female leads, and even fewer feature two. Seer is an ambush artist, Lifeline is a combat medic (and believed to be biracial), and Bangalore is a professional soldier. Apex Legends is currently available for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, Android, and PC.

A spinoff of the third installment in the Assassin's Creed series, Liberation takes place alongside the events of Assassin's Creed III. Aveline de Grandpré is a French assassin based in mid-1700s Louisiana trying to keep the Templars from taking over the area at the end of the French and Indian War. She is not only the first Black lead, but also the first female Black lead in the franchise. Assassin's Creed III: Liberation is available for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

While we may have just gotten confirmation that GTA VI is on the way, Grand Theft Auto V is still going strong. There are three different playable protagonists in the game, though Franklin Clinton is the only Black lead. A gang member working as a repo man for a luxury car dealer, Franklin is taken under the wing of another protagonist, Michael De Santa. GTA V is currently available for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition builds off the story created in the 2018 Dandara game, adding three new areas for players to explore. Black female protagonist Dandara works to rebuild the world that has almost brought the oppressed to extinction in this 2D platformer that's available for PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.