The Astralis Counter-Strike women's team has published an open letter to developer Valve asking to include female skins as a default option in the game in the future. The letter was posted by team shooter Josefine Jensen, signed and shared by the other members of the squad (Aurora Lyngdal, Marie Toft, Anja Soelberg and Isabella Ferslev) and reads in part:
“We share the passion for Counter-Strike with millions of players around the world and we love being part of a truly global community. Unfortunately, we currently have the feeling that we are just guests at the party.”
“Using a female agent skin costs extra, while the standard skins are male-only. We don't know why this is, but we do know that it seems both unfair and a little unwelcoming. It definitely feels that way and in some cases it does.” In this way, it supports the sexism that we unfortunately still encounter.
As noted in the letter, while CS2 does include skins for female agents, these are all part of previous CS:GO operations and had to be either earned or purchased in-game at the time. Female agents available in the game include Lieutenant Farlow, Getaway Sally, Cmdr. Mae Jamison, Special Agent Ava, Chef d'Escadron Rouchard and Vypa, with some of them having additional skin variants.
However: It is in the nature of the CS:GO/CS2 economy that these agents now change hands for money. A quick look at the Community Market shows that Mae Jamison (around £7.50/$9) would be the cheapest female agent, while the undeniably cool Getaway Sally would command a discount (£40/$51). “I think they’re pretty cool,” says Jensen. “But if there were additional standard female agents, I would like them to be more casual, like the standard male agents.”
So the argument put forward by Astralis players here seems pretty simple: there are already women in the game, they're just subject to a paywall, and it seems unfair that there isn't a default female agent for players to use. The letter says, “We don't know why this is,” but the reason is surely just a historical remnant: Counter-Strike's core mode pitted five male CTs against five male Ts when the game came out, and has since not much has changed.
The Astralis players' letter mentions that sexism is still part of the CS2 scene. Unfortunately, while the letter has been widely republished and garnered significant support, many of the responses come from Counter-Strike players who seem determined to prove it. Whether it's the casual sexism insisting that Valve has greater priorities with the game, or the basement dwellers personally insulting the abilities of Jensen and her fellow players, the response to this reasonable request proves one of the key points of the letter: This shouldn't be a big deal.
Valve is Valve first and foremost, one of the greatest development studios in the world, and it has a lot of experience in designing great female characters, not to mention having already designed female agent skins for CS:GO and CS2. It is quite capable of implementing this idea and has already addressed potential issues such as various hitboxes. And more than anything, a look at some of the community's reactions to this letter makes a very good argument that this should be the case. Many responders scoff at Jensen's belief that this would attract more women to the sport, but given that reaction, it's hard to disagree with her next point, that “at least those of us playing now would feel more welcome.”
The open letter mentions previous correspondence with Valve in January. I asked Jensen if the developer had responded: “Unfortunately, we haven’t received a response from Valve yet,” says Jensen. “So we’re still waiting for that.”
As for the negative comments, “we also received a lot of positive ones,” says Jensen. “So my main focus was on the positive comments and messages I received. It was a mixed experience, but I’m glad we took the initiative.”
Default skins for female agents in arguably the world's largest and most competitive FPS don't seem like much of a challenge. The more I think about it, the more it seems like something that should have happened a long time ago.
“There should be no difference between agents,” Jensen writes. “There should be as many free female agents as free male agents.”
I've asked Valve for comment and will update with any response.
