GamePro, GameStar, and MeinMMO shine in rainbow colors starting today. We explain why this is and what PRIDE Month means to us here.
Hate, intolerance, and violence have no place on our websites, in our lives, or in society. These are principles that we stand for throughout the year.
The PRIDE Month has a very special significance for us, which is why we once again want to not only color our logos but also remind ourselves and our communities of the importance of PRIDE values and what we do to stand up for them. Not just in June, but at any time.
Why June is Pride Month
On June 28, 2025, the Stonewall Riots will have their 56th anniversary. Triggered by Marsha P. Johnson, this date is considered the international kickoff of the civil rights LGBTQAI+ movement, which fights for equal rights worldwide and is annually commemorated with PRIDE marches, reminding us of the ongoing struggle for equality for all – regardless of skin color, ethnicity, origin, national origin, social background, political opinion, religion, sexuality, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental abilities, marital status, or other legally protected constellations. You can learn more about Pride Month here.
Why Pride Month is still so important in 2025
The message of PRIDE for diversity, openness, and respect based on tolerance is as important in 2025 as ever, as it is under strong pressure in the current political landscape.
While there are positive advancements such as the self-determination law that came into effect in November 2024 or the action plan “Queer living” adopted by the federal cabinet, which have contributed to Germany ranking 8th in Europe for the rights of LGBTI people (the so-called Rainbow Map), these are small (though very necessary!) glimmers of hope amidst many troubling developments.
Currently, we are observing in the USA how the government under Donald Trump is attacking the values of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) and further infringing upon the rights of LGBTQAI+ individuals, women, and People of Color.
Or in the UK, where a new law has changed the definition of what it means to be a woman – a drastic change that not only has unforeseen consequences for trans individuals but also completely ignores the existence of intersex individuals. It is a shocking and devastating decision for all women and a dangerous precedent.
The current map of attacks on queer rights already shows more anti-LGBTQAI bills in the first half of 2025 than in the entire year of 2024.
These developments are not limited to the USA. The ILGA-Europe annual report 2025 clearly shows the increasing restrictions of LGBTI rights in many countries, the normalization of hate speech, and the achievement of record levels of hate crimes. More and more laws are focusing on the education sector to deny young people access to life-saving information.
Ongoing research consistently shows that LGBTQAI+ individuals (especially youth) have a significantly higher risk of mental distress, depression, suicidal thoughts, and attempts compared to the heterosexual and cisgender population. However, this is not due to sexual orientation or gender identity, but rather the lack of support in everyday life as well as experiences of discrimination and exclusion, as demonstrated by a 2024 study conducted by The Trevor Project.
Note
If you have strong depression or are thinking about suicide or know someone who is, nothing is more important than talking about it. If you don’t want to confide in people close to you, you can anonymously, 24/7 and free of charge contact, among others, the German telephone counseling service at 0800/111 0 111, via chat at the online counseling service, or the help hotline “Mutruf.” You can reach the association at 04191/27 4928 0.
Why we color our logos
Not only for these reasons do we at Webedia Gaming want to emphasize once again that we reject not only discrimination and racism in any form, but also the active or passive exclusion or disadvantage of fellow humans.
By raising the rainbow flag on our pages, we not only show solidarity and that we are part of the PRIDE movement, but also make it clear that values such as tolerance, acceptance, and inclusion are non-negotiable for us. We do not show tolerance for intolerance. Hate speech has no place with us. It has never been different, and it will never change, and anyone who does not see it this way is not welcome at Webedia Germany or on our pages.
The PRIDE flag
As in previous years, we will also use the so-called Progress Pride Flag in 2025. This was designed in 2018 by Daniel Quasar to be even more inclusive than the previous rainbow flag and to better represent the diversity of the movement and our society. In addition to the traditional rainbow colors, there are also stripes in brown and black, as well as white, pink, and light blue. The latter symbolize the trans and non-binary community, while the former represent People of Color. The black stripe also represents all those who suffer from HIV/AIDS and the stigma of the disease or have lost their lives because of it.
How we strive for more tolerance every day
Making our logos shine in rainbow colors or making a statement with articles like this is only part of what we do to promote more tolerance.
On our websites, we also address topics like diversity, accessibility, and mental health outside of June – both in the context of theme weeks and in our everyday reporting. With disclaimers about controversial individuals, incidents, or companies, we also try to provide additional context to dedicated news, columns, reports, podcasts, or streams on these issues. It is particularly important to us to inform not only those who are specifically looking for this but also to sustainably and long-term reach those who may be visiting one of our pages for the first time and have not heard about this before.
How and why we write about controversial topics like Hogwarts Legacy
But many people are also working hard behind the scenes to make our websites, channels, and platforms a better and more welcoming place for all gamers.
The often exhausting work of our community management and our social media managers and moderators is often invisible from the outside, which is exactly why it is so important and noteworthy. Many of the things they deal with on a daily basis, most of you will never see.
Without them, it would not even be possible to provide things like a forum or comment sections to discuss our favorite games or the most exciting news about games, entertainment, technology, and lifestyle. Their tireless and hard work in making our communities a better place plays an essential role in our endeavor to stand up for more tolerance and acceptance in gaming.
Equally important to us is what is happening behind the scenes at Webedia itself. Here we are also continuously working on our values and on creating an even better, more inclusive work environment for all employees.
Whether through special (mental) health offers, workshops, and working groups, or a diversity committee focusing on topics related to diversity and inclusion within Webedia. Not everything we do is meant for the public or our readers, but that does not make these things any less important.
A thank you to our communities
Finally, we also want to take this opportunity, as we do every year, to thank you. Thank you for standing with us against racism, intolerance, and hate. You have often proven this in the past in the comments, and you can be as proud of that as we are! Keep it up and do not let individual troublemakers deter you.
Of course, not everything runs smoothly for us either, and there will always be comments that you and we do not want to read on GamePro, GameStar, GameStar Tech, and Mein MMO or our social media platforms or YouTube. We will address this together with our community management and our team of moderators but are also depending on your support.
Because fighting against racism, hate, and verbal violence and striving for a better world only works in one way: together.
