Global beauty and wellbeing brand Dove has launched a campaign to revolutionise real beauty in the virtual world.

The Real Virtual Beauty in Games campaign will be supported by a series of actions to increase diversity and representation of female characters in games, alongside supporting young girls with self-esteem education across the virtual world.

Collaborating on a first of its kind coalition with Women in Games, Epic Games’ Unreal Engine’s Education Team, and female led creative games studio Toya, Dove’s entry into the metaverse and games communities follows new research that reveals 60% of girl gamers feel misrepresented and recognise a lack of diversity as a key issue in video games, and 35% of young girls state their self-esteem is negatively impacted after seeing a lack of diversity in characters and avatars. 

Real Virtual Beauty is a series of actions across games experience helping shatter narrow beauty stereotypes and equip the next generation of young creators and players with the tools to build self-esteem and body confidence.

Starting where intervention is most urgently needed, Dove is launching the Real Beauty in Games Training education course in partnership with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, inviting game creators to design their own avatars that help reflect the diversity we see in everyday life.

Participants who have completed the course will have the opportunity to showcase their final works through the launch of an online “Real Virtual Beauty” character gallery - curated by Dove and available on Epic Games’ Art Station - helping raise the standard for the authentic, diverse and inclusive representation of women and girls across the games world.

In parallel, using a public health intervention model, the Dove Self-Esteem Project is equipping the next generation of creators and players with the tools to build self-esteem and body confidence through the launch of SuperU Story, the world’s first Roblox experience - in partnership with Toya - designed to deliver self-esteem education.

Leandro Barreto, Dove Global Vice President, says: “At Dove we believe that beauty should be a source of confidence, not anxiety, in every aspect of life, both real and virtual. As part of Dove’s social mission in confidence and self-esteem, we are taking steps to tackle negative stereotypes in the rapidly growing games industry. Through our work with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine education team, Women in Games, and alongside the launch of SuperU Story on Roblox, we hope to make a real impact on the millions of women and girls who are spending their free time playing games.”