A new survey shines a light on why some gamers might feel uncomfortable disclosing their LGBTQ+ identities online.

In a survey of 788 respondents between the ages of 18 to 70, a studypublished by the gaming website OnlineRoulette.org found that 73% of all LGBTQ+ gamers reported experiencing harassment on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The gamers who are out online are 21% more likely to experience verbal abuse than their closeted counterparts.

The study, which follows an Anti-Defamation Leaguereport on LGBTQ+ gamers from 2019, explains that even the highest-earning professional LGBTQ+ gamers brought in far less revenue last year than the top heterosexual earners. For instance, straightCall of Duty gamer James Eubanks (also known as “Clayster”) brought in $365,000 in 2020, while Autumn Burchett, one of the top money-makers among LGBTQ+ gamers, took home $50,000. Burchett’s sum is less than a seventh of what Eubanks earned.

This is especially interesting in light of last year’s Nielsen 360 survey on queer gamers, which showed that LGBTQ+ players on average spend8% more money on games per month than straight players.

The Online Roulette survey shows that queer gamers aren’t just at a financial disadvantage, however. Among the pool of individuals surveyed, 37% answered “yes” when asked whether their “gaming identity” is reflective of their LGBTQ+ orientation.

Overall, 88% reported being harassed while gaming.

The study also found that queer women and nonbinary gamers suffer particularly severe harassment on the basis of their sex and gender identities. According to the study, 61% of nonbinary gamers last year reported experienced sexist comments, such as insults about their intelligence. Meanwhile, 33% were threatened with sexual violence, and 67% fielded derogatory remarks about their sexuality. Around 21% of queer women reported online stalking by harassers, while 63% dealt with derogatory comments about their gaming skills.

Gamers who were open about their identities saw the brunt of the abuses, with 1 in 4 out LGBTQ+ respondents claiming to have been threatened with sexual assault. As for everyone else, the survey showed that 35% of LGBTQ+ players in 2020 felt too unsafe to disclose their identity. Nearly half of queer gamers — 40% — decided to stop playing online altogether because of online harassment, according to the results.

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That said, there were some positive findings.According to the Online Roulette study, 45% of respondents said that gaming played an integral part in their discovery of their own queer identity.

In addition, games likeStardew Valley andAnimal Crossinghave become online safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community, evenemboldening some users to come out. Games that allow users to create new persona online can even act as training wheels for queer and trans players who don’t feel confident or safe enough to be open in real life.

Many queer journalists and activists — includingthem. contributorMatt Baume ina 2018 lecture at the Game Developers Conference — argue that queerness has always been anintegral part of gaming culture, especially considering the history of early RPGs likeThe Sims andSecond Life. These gained popularity with queer and trans users by allowing them to create acompletely new persona (or personae) online.

The world of gaminghas been changing in recent years in an attempt to address the history of erasure in games, as well as downright bad representation. Last year,Tell Me Whybecame the first video game to feature a trans lead character. While its pro-cop stance left much to be desired, the makers worked closely with trans GLAAD employees to make sure it didn’t fall into the same trap as the mega-hitLast of Us II, which featured a trans character whogets deadnamed.

But not all progress has been linear. Last year, the mega-hitCyberpunk 2077drew ire from trans activists for allowing players to “clock” trans characters as part of the gameplay.

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