A recent advertisement released by Razer has ignited a firestorm on TikTok, once again highlighting the persistent issue of sexism within the gaming community. While the ad aimed to showcase the company’s new noise-canceling headphones, it inadvertently perpetuated an outdated and harmful stereotype: that women—who, by the way, constitute nearly half of all gamers—are incessantly chatty and distracting.
The controversial commercial, initially spotted by PC Gamer, features a man and a woman on a couch. The man, engrossed in his game with a headset on, appears visibly uncomfortable as the woman animatedly talks to him. With a caption that reads, “Don’t let yapping get in the way of your winning,” he then activates the headset’s noise-canceling function. Her voice instantly fades, replaced by an on-screen message: “Active Noise Cancellation: On, Drama: Off.” This advertisement remains active on TikTok as of October 23.
This ad is particularly surprising given Razer’s previous efforts to create products specifically for female gamers, such as their line of cute accessories. Regardless of intent, the commercial falls back on tired gender stereotypes, effectively dismissing a significant demographic within the gaming community. A recent study by the Entertainment Software Association actually highlighted a “nearly equal gender split” among video game players, making Razer’s misstep even more glaring.
The public reaction has been overwhelmingly negative. Users flooded the comments section with remarks such as, “welp guess I’m done with razer after 15 years,” “I just put my razer headphones in the bin,” and “the casual misogyny is INSANE.” According to PC Gamer, this wave of dissatisfaction has spilled over to other Razer content on TikTok, with a prominent comment on an ad for their Razer Kuromi headset now simply stating, “razer’s sexist btw.”
GameSpot has contacted Razer for an official statement regarding the controversy.