"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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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:

“We’ve learned a lot, but our mission to make great horse games hasn’t changed” – Reflecting on Equestrian The Game with Kavalri Games’ Molly Ericson
“We’ve learned a lot, but our mission to make great horse games hasn’t changed” – Reflecting on Equestrian The Game with Kavalri Games’ Molly Ericson

Equestrian the Game is a mobile game about owning, training and breeding horses. Kavalri Games’ co-founder and CEO Molly Ericson sat down for a call with me to discuss some critical learnings about making free-to-play games and how to handle players and their feedback, about what’s left in store for ETG and what we can expect from Kavalri games in the future.

Game Release: Tales of Rein Ravine is Now Available on Steam For Free
Game Release: Tales of Rein Ravine is Now Available on Steam For Free

Tales of Rein Ravine is a new horse game now available in Steam Early Access at no cost. While “an intriguing story - more mature than typical in its genre” is planned for the future, the Early Access version of ToRR doesn’t have much narrative content yet, but lets you take riding lessons and explore.

Introducing The Bridle Paths: A New Website about Horses in Games, Films and More!
Introducing The Bridle Paths: A New Website about Horses in Games, Films and More!

Laura Gaspa is a horse girl on a mission to educate, analyze and report on horses in media. The Bridle Paths is her brand new website where she plans to do just that.

Horse Animation: Guides, References and Resources
Horse Animation: Guides, References and Resources

Horse Animation is really hard, I know. The purpose of this article is to summarize some common issues and provide helpful resources for how to do better. While I’m coming from a game dev perspective, I hope these tips and guides can also be useful to anyone animating horses for other media such as film or TV.

ROAM is an Open World Wild Horse Simulator and There's a Free Demo Available Now!
ROAM is an Open World Wild Horse Simulator and There's a Free Demo Available Now!

“What about a horse game where you play AS THE HORSE"?” is a demand I see in the TMQ-Communities quite often. When people imagine a game like this, they often start hoping for survival gameplay, complex herd dynamics and some sort of Spirit - Stallion of the Cimarron vibe.

Preview: I tried the VR Edition of Rival Stars Horse Racing and it's Looking Pretty Good
Preview: I tried the VR Edition of Rival Stars Horse Racing and it's Looking Pretty Good

Between my talk at devcom and a ton of interesting horse game related conversations, I’ve had an absolutely splendid time at gamescom in Cologne this year. One highlight that I want to tell you all more about is this though: I got to try the upcoming VR Edition of Rival Stars Horse Racing! 

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