# Designed With Gamers In Mind Vs Designed With Activists In Mind "Designed With Gamers In Mind vs. Designed With Activists In Mind" is an exploitable meme format that emerged in October 2025 on X (formerly Twitter). It originated from a post by @mrphillipchan showing a sexualized edit of Ghost of Yōtei protagonist Atsu alongside her actual in-game model, labeled as designs for "gamers" versus "activists" respectively. The format quickly became a vehicle for ironic parody, with users applying absurd sexualized edits to unlikely video game characters to mock the original post's premise. ## Origin On October 8th, 2025, X user @mrphillipchan posted a side-by-side image comparing a fan edit of Atsu, the protagonist of Sucker Punch's upcoming game Ghost of Yōtei, with her actual in-game render[2]. The edit on the left gave Atsu large breasts, visible cleavage, and makeup, captioned "Designed with gamers in mind." The unaltered render sat on the right under "Designed with activists in mind." The post text read, "If Ghost of Yotei made Atsu look like this, the game woulda sold a million copies by now"[2]. The post tapped into ongoing discourse about Ghost of Yōtei being too "woke" for starring a woman protagonist[2]. Within five days, the post picked up over 20,000 likes and 2,500 reposts on X[2]. - **Platform:** X (Twitter) - **Creator:** @mrphillipchan (original post) - **Date:** 2025 ## Overview The meme uses a two-panel comparison layout. On the left, a video game character is edited to look stereotypically sexualized under the caption "Designed with gamers in mind." On the right, the character's actual in-game appearance sits under "Designed with activists in mind." The original post was sincere, arguing that Ghost of Yōtei would sell better if its female protagonist had visible cleavage and heavy makeup[2]. The internet's response was overwhelmingly ironic, applying the same treatment to characters like Spider-Man, Doomguy, and Dr. Eggman to expose the absurdity of the argument. ## How It Spread The format went viral almost immediately as other users created ironic versions applying the "gamers in mind" treatment to increasingly ridiculous targets. On October 10th, 2025, X user @lionhard_art posted a version featuring Spider-Man with an enlarged posterior and exaggerated anatomy in the "gamers" panel[2]. The post blew up, reaching over 160,000 likes within three days[2]. That same day, X user @FittingDoomIMGs created a Doom-themed version that hit over 130,000 likes in the same timeframe[2]. Also on October 10th, @gendermarxism posted a take showing Resident Evil's Leon Kennedy sporting a lower back tattoo in the "gamers" edit, which pulled in over 174,000 likes in three days[2]. The Leon Kennedy version was the most-liked individual entry in the trend's first week. By October 11th, the format had jumped to Reddit. User u/XxTombraiderfanxX posted a version using Auntie Ethel from Baldur's Gate 3 to the r/Gamingcirclejerk subreddit, picking up over 1,600 upvotes in two days[2]. That same day, u/julian_the_artist brought the format to r/SonicTheHedgehog with a Dr. Eggman version that pulled over 8,800 upvotes in a single day[2]. The meme's spread was driven by the comedy of applying the "gamers in mind" logic to characters that made the format's original argument look ridiculous. Male characters, villains, non-human characters, and elderly NPCs all got the treatment. ## How to Use The format typically follows a straightforward template: 1. Pick a video game character, ideally one where sexualization would be absurd or funny 2. Create or find a heavily sexualized edit of that character for the left panel, labeled "Designed with gamers in mind" 3. Place the character's actual appearance on the right panel, labeled "Designed with activists in mind" 4. Optionally add post text mimicking the original's earnest tone ("If [game] made [character] look like this, [sales claim]") ## Cultural Impact The meme became a flashpoint in the broader "woke games" discourse that surrounded several 2025 game reveals. Ghost of Yōtei's announcement had already drawn criticism from some corners of the gaming community for featuring a female lead, and @mrphillipchan's post crystallized that argument into a shareable format[2]. The ironic backlash, with parody versions vastly outperforming the original in engagement, effectively turned the format into a rebuttal of the premise itself. The speed at which parody versions overtook the original was notable. While the sincere original post reached around 20,000 likes, multiple parody versions individually exceeded 130,000-174,000 likes within the same week[2]. The ratio of ironic-to-sincere usage made this one of the clearer cases of a meme format being reclaimed by mockery almost immediately after creation. ## Fun Facts - The parody Leon Kennedy version with 174,000 likes got roughly 8.7x the engagement of the original sincere post[2]. - The format spread from X to Reddit within just three days of the original post[2]. - Dr. Eggman's version on r/SonicTheHedgehog was the fastest-growing Reddit entry, hitting 8,800 upvotes in a single day[2]. - The original post's framing around Ghost of Yōtei connected to a wider pattern of "woke" complaints about games starring women protagonists in 2025[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is "Designed With Gamers In Mind vs. Designed With Activists In Mind"? It's an exploitable meme format comparing a sexualized edit of a video game character ("designed with gamers in mind") against their actual in-game design ("designed with activists in mind"), almost always used ironically to mock the original premise[2]. ### Where did "Designed With Gamers In Mind" come from? X user @mrphillipchan posted the original version on October 8th, 2025, using an edited image of Ghost of Yōtei protagonist Atsu[2]. ### What does "Designed With Gamers In Mind" mean? In the original post, it meant a character design optimized for male sexual appeal. In the meme's ironic usage, it's a punchline mocking the idea that sexualization equals better game design[2]. ### How do you use "Designed With Gamers In Mind"? Pick a video game character, create an absurdly sexualized edit for the left panel labeled "Designed with gamers in mind," and place their real design on the right labeled "Designed with activists in mind"[2]. ### Is "Designed With Gamers In Mind" still popular? The meme saw its peak virality in October 2025, with multiple posts exceeding 100,000 likes. As a format tied to a specific game discourse moment, usage tapered after the initial wave[2]. ### Who made the most popular version? @gendermarxism's Leon Kennedy version with a lower back tattoo was the highest-performing individual post, reaching over 174,000 likes in three days[2]. ### What game started the meme? Ghost of Yōtei, an upcoming game from Sucker Punch Productions, whose female protagonist Atsu was the subject of the original post[2]. ### Why did people make fun of the original post? The original post argued sincerely that sexualizing a female character would boost sales, and the internet responded by applying the same logic to absurd targets like Spider-Man and Dr. Eggman to show how silly the argument was[2]. ## References 1. [List of Internet phenomena]() 2. [Designed With Gamers In Mind vs. Designed With Activists In Mind - Know Your Meme]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/designed-with-gamers-in-mind-vs-designed-with-activists-in-mind Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library