Diversity in the Gaming Industry: Disabled and Black Gaming Influencers to Know

Over the past decade, the gaming industry has proved that it’s more than just games. Instead, it is a social space for players across all demographics to come together and simply hang out and have fun.

In recent years, emphasis has been placed on communities. With the Black Lives Matter movement highlighting the need for change when addressing and including Black people, the disabled community are also finding ways to make their needs heard.

The gaming industry is host to some of the largest and most diverse communities and audiences across the world. But often, the bigger names in gaming take centre stage, leaving little room for Black gaming influencers and disabled/neurodivergent gamers to be accentuated.

In an attempt to tackle this, we will shed light on the disabled and Black gaming influencers on Twitch that we believe need to be added to your roster.

Top 10 gaming influencers to diversify your talent

In today’s climate, every

Twitch marketing agency should prove they have a diverse range of talent for companies to choose from when looking for collaborations. We have comprised a list of disabled, neurodivergent and Black gaming influencers to help diversify your talent pools.

Top Black Gaming Influencers

1. DennyVonDoom

Denny Underwood is the community manager for The Cookout – a community of gamers, streamers and creatives which offers a safe space for people of colour.

He is based out of Chicago and mostly enjoys fighting games like Elden Ring, but is also known to dabble in other genres including adventure and mystery. His channel is pro-conversation, an aspect that Denny feels is crucial for building and maintaining and progressing an inclusive community.

2. BlackGirlGamers

Though not an individual influencer, BlackGirlGamers makes our list as one of the most prominent Twitch channels representing female Black gaming influencers. Not only created as a safe space for Black women in gaming, but this channel also serves as a catalyst for driving diversity and inclusion by strengthening their community through real life events. These include sessions held by official team members.

3. Cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is another Chicagoan. She has 21K followers on her Twitch channel and is the founder and director of a non-profit called I Need Diverse Games, which discusses, analyses and critiques identity and culture in video games.

She loves streaming a variety of titles and you can often catch her playing anything from Animal Crossing 2 to Destiny 2 to One Piece Odyssey.

4. TheBlackHokage

TheBlackHokage or TBH is a variety streamer, podcast host and YouTube OG who enjoys engaging with his chat. He is a member of The Gaming Illuminaughty stream team and uses the podcast associated with this group to discuss the latest in gaming and “geek culture”. With 176K Twitch followers, TBH likes to stream Sons of the Forest, Apex Legends and Atomic Heart. He has also received sponsorship from a handful of brands including Quip, Mint Mobile and EchoGear.

5. Deejay Knight

Deejay Knight is one of the Black gaming influencers who cannot be left off of our list. As a US Air Force veteran of the Special Forces, Deejay has now turned his attention to gaming and uses his Twitch channel to broadcast about the sci-fi genre. You’ll often catch him streaming Minecraft: Dungeons and Magic: The Gathering. He has a very lively channel and has put a lot of effort into building his 90k audience, so much so that his dedication led him to pursue 1000 consecutive days of streaming; something very few are able to achieve.

6. PikaChulita

PikaChulita joined Twitch in 2014, however it took her three years to find her feet and begin streaming consistently before she built a following of 15k gamers. She enjoys non-military first-person shooters and horror/simulation games and can often be found streaming Fortnite. As one of the female Black gaming influencers on our list, PikaChulita uses her channel as a voice for charity and highlighting diversity and inclusion in the gaming community.

In 2020 she was featured on a Now This insert about female Twitch streamers and her experience as one over the last decade. PikaChulita is also a member of the BlackGirlGamers Twitch team we mentioned earlier!

7. iamBrandon

iamBrandon joined Twitch in 2015 and has amassed a following of 41k. While predominantly a fan of horror games, he is also known for streaming games such as Animal Crossing and Goldeneye 007. iamBrandon is famous for his inviting and positive nature and highly interactive community. He is also the influencer relations manager for Reverb Games and the founder of the Chicago Twitch support network.

Top Disabled Gaming Influencers

8. NoHandsKen

Ken Worrall is a quadriplegic, 48-year-old gamer. He has 35k followers on Twitch for whom he streams games like Diablo 3 and World of Warcraft. To play these games he uses the Jouse3 (similar to a mouse) which he operates with his mouth. Ken is also an advocate for the Neil Squire Society, whose mission is to foster better social and economic inclusion for people with disabilities.

9. Brolylegs

Brolylegs describes himself as “the best Chun-li with no hands”. As expected, he streams Street Fighter V, for which he is also a game trainer. He streams other titles such as Like a Dragon: Ishin! and Fire Emblem Engage to his 11k followers.

10. Mackenseize

Mackenzie is a 30-year-old streamer whose aim is to promote invisible disability awareness among the gaming community through sharing her own story as a gamer with epilepsy. She has 35K followers on Twitch and mostly streams Hearthstone, which she has been playing since 2014 and competed in tournaments for.