"Why Doesn't the Industry Make Good Girls' Games?" – A Video Essay into the History and Market of "Girly Games"

Moon Channel, a YouTube creator of gaming video essays, has released a fantastic video tackling the history and market of so-called “girl games” – video games deliberately marketed to and targeted at young female players. This is includiding, but not limited to, Horse Games.

Parts of the essay echo many points that I often make here on TMQ – which is no coincidence, since channel host Moony mentions me and my work on The Mane Quest as an influence in the video. I am flattered, I feel heard, and I may have cried a little from sheer validation.

I hugely appreciate this nuanced and spot-on take about this often-forgotten niche, and can heartily recommend watching it.

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Horse Games and Gender – How Video Games often fail to combine Quality and Femininity
Horse Games and Gender – How Video Games often fail to combine Quality and Femininity

There has been a significant amount of progress in recent years in how female characters are included and designed.

What remains is an imbalance between how our industry tackles subject matters and activities that have a gendered connotation, which is a significant factor in the utter scarcity of well-made games about horses.

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Recommended: "The Problem With Red Dead Redemption 2’s Horse Testicles – 'There's Too Many of Them'"
Recommended: "The Problem With Red Dead Redemption 2’s Horse Testicles – 'There's Too Many of Them'"

I was invited to a brand new podcast called You Are Error, hosted by games journalist Nathan Grayson for Aftermath. Nathan and I talked about some of the many ways in which mainstream video games keep dropping the ball when it comes to including horses and why I’m sure that the horse game audience is bigger than anyone realizes and has a lot of potential.

Horse Games – History of a Neglected Genre and its Untapped Potential – Talk from Devcom 2024
Horse Games – History of a Neglected Genre and its Untapped Potential – Talk from Devcom 2024

I was a speaker at Devcom 2024 in Cologne, giving a presentation on my horse game work. The recorded talk is now available on YouTube!

Game Release: ROAM: Wild Horse Simulator is out on Steam now!
Game Release: ROAM: Wild Horse Simulator is out on Steam now!

A cute, somewhat silly little game that tackles the “horse game where you actually play as a horse” concept, which is remarkably rare in our niche. As of November 22nd, after only a few months of solo development, ROAM is now available on Steam for around 5 €/USD!

Horse World Online Celebrates its Anniversary and Looks Back on 20 Years of Browser Game History
Horse World Online Celebrates its Anniversary and Looks Back on 20 Years of Browser Game History

Horse World Online is a free to play browser game about training and breeding horses. This month, the game celebrates its 20th anniversary, giving us an excellent opportunity to dive into a bit of living horse game history with its developers, and take a look at what running a profitable browser game can look like in 2024. 

Recommended: A horse game went viral, and a horse game expert feels vindicated
Recommended: A horse game went viral, and a horse game expert feels vindicated

I was recently interviewed by renowned games journalist Stephen Totilo about my horse game work, including my involvement in the upcoming Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori.

My Horsez: The Dutch Browser Game celebrates its 16th Birthday and Launches for International Audiences
My Horsez: The Dutch Browser Game celebrates its 16th Birthday and Launches for International Audiences

Static, image-based browser games may seem like a relic of the distant past and the early internet to the games industry at large, but in the horse game niche, this medium is going strong. Today we’re having a look at My Horsez: A Dutch Browser game that launches internationally this week after long-running success in its home country.

The Best Horse Games to Play on PC and Console in 2025
The Best Horse Games to Play on PC and Console in 2025

Are you new to horse games and not sure where to start? Find out what’s the latest and best, and what you may have missed!

Recommended: Indie developers are trying to make horse games that don’t suck. It’s not easy
Recommended: Indie developers are trying to make horse games that don’t suck. It’s not easy

Earlier this year, I was interviewed by Cheyenne Macdonald for the tech and gaming site Engadget. I only just realized that Cheyenne ended up interviewing a handful of devs from the teams of Astride and Unbridled: That Horse Game and that the resulting article was published a few months ago!

I can only recommend having a look for yourself:

analysisAlice Ruppertgirl games, horse game history, barbie games, recommendationComment