This list of black video game characters exclude sports and music titles. A study was published in 2009 by the University of Southern California called: "The virtual census: representations of gender, race and age in video games" and it showed that black characters appear in video games in proportion to their numbers in the 2000 US census data, but mainly in sports games and in titles that reinforce stereotypes.[1]
| Name | Game title/ franchise | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| and [2] | Playable | ||
| Afro Samurai | Playable | ||
| Gears of War[3] | |||
| Black Lightning "Jefferson Pierce" | Black Lightning has appeared in numerous games | Playable and NPC | |
| Black Manta "David Hyde" | Black Manta has appeared in numerous games | Playable and NPC | |
| Black Panther has appeared in numerous games | Playable and NPC | ||
| Blade has appeared in numerous games | Playable and NPC | ||
| Colonel | Shaq Fu | ||
| Cyborg has appeared in numerous games | Playable and NPC | ||
| Dona | Way of the Samurai 3 | NPC | |
| Don Donatelouse (aka Dona-dona) | Way of the Samurai | Playable and NPC | |
| Firestorm has appeared in numerous games | |||
| Hauser | Suikoden | Playable | |
| Prototype | |||
| John Stewart | John Stewart has appeared in numerous games | Playable and NPC | |
| Julius Erving "Dr. J" | [4] | ||
| Laheesa | One on One | Playable | |
| Lucius Fox has appeared in numerous games | NPC | ||
| Luke Cage "Power Man" | Luke Cage has appeared in numerous games | Playable and NPC | |
| Mace Windu has appeared in numerous games | Playable and NPC | ||
| Mark Kimberley | Shenmue | ||
| Mash | One on One | Playable | |
| Miles Morales has appeared in numerous games | Playable and NPC | ||
| JoJo's Bizarre Adventure | |||
| NPC | |||
| Nick Fury has appeared in numerous games (Not always black) | Playable and NPC | ||
| Sig | Jak and Daxter series | ||
| Storm has appeared in numerous games | Playable and NPC | ||
| Tom Johnson | Shenmue | ||
| Vixen "Mari Jiwe McCabe" | Vixen has appeared in numerous games | Playable and NPC | |
| Voodoo | Shaq Fu | Playable | |
| War Machine has appeared in numerous games | Playable and NPC |
| Year | Title | Name | Role | Nationality | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Punch-Out!! | Kid Quick | Appeared in the Arcade version of Punch-Out! | |||
| Mr. Sandman | ||||||
| 1985 | G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero | Roadblock | Playable | American | ||
| 1986 | Quartet | Edgar | ||||
| 1987 | Punch-Out!! | Doc Louis | First appeared in the NES version of Punch-Out! | |||
| Street Fighter | Birdie | |||||
| 1989 | The Colonel's Bequest | Celie | ||||
| Legend of the Ghost Lion | Moja | |||||
| 1990 | Beverly Hills Cop | Axel Foley | ||||
| 1991 | Fatal Fury | Michael Max | ||||
| Balrog | ||||||
| Streets of Rage | Adam Hunter | Playable | ||||
| 1992 | Streets of Rage 2 | Eddie "Skate" Hunter | Playable | Also known as Sammy Hunter | ||
| The Dagger of Amon Ra | Ernie Leach | |||||
| Night Trap | SCAT member Collins | NPC | ||||
| King's Quest VI | Pawnshop Owner | NPC | ||||
| 1993 | Watchman Toussaint Gervais | |||||
| Mortal Kombat II | Jax Briggs | |||||
| Alvin Hooper "Yo Money" | ||||||
| Nicolette | ||||||
| Raymond Jones | ||||||
| Dee Jay | Playable | Jamaican | ||||
| Virtua Fighter | Jeffry McWild | Playable | ||||
| 1994 | Bebe's Kids | Kahlil | ||||
| LaShawn | ||||||
| Killer Instinct | T.J. Combo | |||||
| Tough Guy | Sheana | Playable | ||||
| The King of Fighters '94 | Lucky Glauber | |||||
| Heavy-D! | ||||||
| 1995 | Mortal Kombat 3 | Cyrax | Playable | |||
| Fighting Vipers | Grace | |||||
| Tekken 2 | Bruce Irvin | |||||
| 1996 | Dead or Alive | Zack | ||||
| Killer Instinct | Maya | |||||
| Resident Evil | Kenneth J. Sullivan | |||||
| 1997 | Final Fantasy VII | Barrett Wallace | Leader of AVALANCHE | |||
| Interstate '82 | Taurus | |||||
| Tekken 3 | Eddy Gordo | Playable | ||||
| Tiger Jackson | Playable | |||||
| Mortal Kombat 4 | Kai | Playable | ||||
| Boman Delgado | ||||||
| Dudley | Playable | |||||
| Elena | ||||||
| Sean Matsuda | Playable | |||||
| 1998 | Half-Life[5] | Eli Vance | Eli is first named and plays a bigger role in Half Life 2, released 2004 | |||
| Resident Evil 2 | Marvin Branagh | |||||
| Metal Gear Solid | Donald Anderson (DARPA Chief) | |||||
| 1999 | Akuji the Heartless | Akuji | Playable | |||
| Ready 2 Rumble Boxing | Afro Thunder | Playable | ||||
| The King of Fighters '99 Evolution | Seth | First playable as The King of Fighters 2000 | ||||
| Shadow Man[6] | Michael LeRoi "Shadow Man" | Playable | ||||
| Urban Chaos | D'arci Stern |
| Year | Title | Name | Role | Nationality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Valygar Corthala | Also appeared in , in 2013 | |||
| 2001 | Samuel Williams | ||||
| Halo: The Fall of Reach | Sergeant Major Avery Junior Johnson | ||||
| [7] | Fortune | NPC | |||
| Virtua Fighter 4 | Vanessa Lewis | ||||
| 2002 | Lance Vance | Also appears in | |||
| Victor Vance | |||||
| Agent J | Playable | ||||
| Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell | Irving Lambert | ||||
| 2003 | Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball[8] | Lisa Hamilton | |||
| Ayme | |||||
| Resident Evil Outbreak | Jim Chapman | ||||
| Mark Wilkins | |||||
| John Dalton | |||||
| 2004 | Carl "CJ" Johnson | Playable | |||
| Kendl Johnson | Playable | ||||
| Madd Dogg | NPC | ||||
| OG Loc | |||||
| Sean Johnson | NPC | ||||
| Big Smoke | NPC | ||||
| Half-Life 2[9] | Alyx Vance | Alyx is playable in the VR game Half Life Alyx, released in 2020 | |||
| Mortal Kombat: Deception | Darrius | Playable | |||
| Rumble Roses | Aisha | Playable | |||
| The Suffering | Torque | ||||
| Tekken 5 | Raven | Playable | |||
| 2005 | Fahrenheit | Tyler Miles | |||
| Killer7 | Garcian Smith | ||||
| 2006 | Dead Rising | Brad Garrison | NPC | ||
| Kian Alvane | |||||
| Final Fantasy XII | Fran | ||||
| Wii Sports | Matt | Playable | |||
| 2007 | Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare | Staff Sgt. Griggs | |||
| Crysis | Laurence Barnes "Prophet" | ||||
| No More Heroes | Shinobu Jacobs | ||||
| Mass Effect | David Anderson | ||||
| Team Fortress 2 | Demoman | Playable | Scottish | ||
| 2008 | Dead Space | Zach Hammond | NPC | ||
| Fallout 3 | Three Dog | ||||
| Left 4 Dead | Louis | Playable | American | [10] | |
| Crying Wolf | Playable | ||||
| Drebin 893 | NPC | ||||
| Grand Theft Auto IV | Dwayne | ||||
| Punch-Out!! | Disco Kid | ||||
| 2009 | ARMA 2 | Master Sergeant Matthew "Coops" Cooper | |||
| Borderlands | Roland | ||||
| Sergeant Foley | |||||
| Final Fantasy XIII | Sazh Katzroy | ||||
| Romeo | |||||
| League of Legends | Ekko | Playable | Undefined | [11] | |
| Lucian | |||||
| Senna | |||||
| Pyke | [12] | ||||
| Rell | [13] | ||||
| K'Sante | [14] | ||||
| Batman: Arkham Asylum | Aaron Cash | ||||
| Bayonetta | Rodin | NPC | British | [15] | |
| Left 4 Dead 2 | Coach | Playable | American | ||
| Rochelle | |||||
| Isaac Washington | |||||
| MadWorld | Black Baron | ||||
| Resident Evil 5 | Josh Stone | ||||
| Sheva Alomar | |||||
| Commander Gore |
| Year | Title | Name | Role | Nationality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Charles Milton Porter | ||||
| Heavy Rain | Mad Jack | NPC | |||
| Pokémon Black and White | Lenora | NPC | American* | Archeologist and former Normal-type Gym Leader.[16] | |
| Marshal | Unova's Fighting-type Elite Four member. | ||||
| Iris | |||||
| Nathan Copeland | |||||
| Mass Effect 2 | Jacob Taylor | ||||
| Anthony Higgs | |||||
| 2011 | Dead Island | Sam B | |||
| Yelena Fedorva | |||||
| Infamous 2 | Nix | ||||
| NazirNazeem | |||||
| Anarchy Reigns | Blacker Baron | ||||
| 2012 | [17] | Aveline de Grandpré | Playable | French | Aveline is born lives under French Louisiana era |
| Borderlands 2 | Sir Hammerlock | ||||
| Diablo III | Tyrael | ||||
| Fire Emblem Awakening | Basilio | ||||
| The Walking Dead | Clementine | Playable | |||
| Lee Everett | |||||
| Mass Effect | Steven Cortez | NPC | Undefined | [18] | |
| Hitman Absolution | Raymond Valentine | ||||
| Clash of Clans | Hog Rider | Troop | Undefined | [19] | |
| Starhawk | Emmett Graves | ||||
| Lieutenant Alphanso Adams | |||||
| 2013 | Assassin's Creed | Adéwalé | NPC | ||
| Warden Martin Joseph | NPC | ||||
| Hexxat | Playable | ||||
| BioShock Infinite | Daisy Fitzroy | ||||
| Grand Theft Auto V | Franklin Clinton | Playable | |||
| Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death | Marlow Briggs | ||||
| The Last of Us | Henry | NPC | |||
| Marlene | NPC | ||||
| Riley Abel | NPC | ||||
| Sam | NPC | ||||
| Killer Is Dead | Bryan Roses | ||||
| Remember Me | Nilin | ||||
| Pokémon X and Y | Grant | ||||
| The Wonderful 101 | Wonder-Black | ||||
| 2014 | Aurelia Hammerlock | ||||
| Sergeant Cormack | |||||
| Knox | |||||
| Delrin Barris | |||||
| Vivienne | |||||
| 2015 | Fallout 4 | Preston Garvey | |||
| Life Is Strange | Principal Ray Wells | Also appears in | |||
| Pillars of Eternity and | Pallegina | ||||
| Heroes of the Storm | Qhira | ||||
| Mortal Kombat X | Jacqui Briggs | ||||
| Tekken 7 | Master Raven | ||||
| Leroy Smith | Released in 2019 | ||||
| Until Dawn | Matt | ||||
| 2016 | Dead by Daylight | Philip Ojomo | Playable | Nigerian | A killer known as "The Wraith".[20] |
| Lisa Sherwood | American | A killer known as "The Hag".[21] | |||
| Herman Carter | American | A killer known as "The Doctor".[22] | |||
| Joey | Canadian | A killer who is a part of a band of other killers known as "The Legion".[23] | |||
| Claudette Morel | Playable | Canadian | A survivor.[24] | ||
| Adam Francis | Jamaican | A survivor.[25] | |||
| Nuclear Throne | Rogue | ||||
| Mafia III | Lincoln Clay | Protagonist | American | [26] | |
| Overwatch | Baptiste | Playable | |||
| Doomfist | |||||
| Lúcio | |||||
| Hitman | Olivia Hall | ||||
| Kalvin Ritter | |||||
| Pokémon Sun & Moon | Kiawe | NPC | Hawaiian* | He is the Fire-type Trial Captain of Alola.[27] | |
| Olivia | She is both a Kahuna and a member of the Alolan Elite Four. | ||||
| Stardew Valley | Demetrius | ||||
| Maru | |||||
| Nadine Ross | |||||
| 2017 | Watch Dogs 2 | Marcus Holloway | |||
| Arms | Twintelle | ||||
| Call of Duty WW2 | Marcus Howard | ||||
| Dream Daddy | Mat Sella | ||||
| Horizon Zero Dawn | Sylens | NPC | Horizon Forbidden West | ||
| Liam Kosta | |||||
| Prey | Dayo Igwe | ||||
| Slime Rancher | Beatrix LeBeau | ||||
| Splatoon 2 | Marina | ||||
| 2018 | Donut County | Mira | Playable | ||
| Dandara | Dandara | Playable | |||
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | Lenny Summers | ||||
| Tilly Jackson | |||||
| Hitman 2 | Zoe Washington | NPC | |||
| Sophia Washington | NPC | ||||
| Stone | Playable | ||||
| Return of the Obra Dinn | Winston Smith | NPC | American | ||
| Soulcalibur VI | Zasalamel | Playable | |||
| 2019 | Alex | ||||
| Brad | |||||
| Félicité "Fliss" DuBois | |||||
| Devil May Cry 5 | J.D. Morrison | ||||
| Apex Legends | Bangalore | ||||
| Lifeline |
| Year | Title | Name | Role | Nationality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Streets of Rage 4 | Cherry Hunter | Playable | ||
| 2021 | Deathloop | Colt Vahn | Protagonist | Undefined | [28] |
| Julianna Blake | Playable | ||||
| Far Cry 6 | Antón Castillo | NPC | |||
| 2022 | O'saa | Playable | |||
| Pokémon Scarlet & Violet | Ryme | NPC | Spanish* | A Gym Leader of Paldea who favors Ghost-types, her rap is known to "bring the dead to their feet". Former Gym Leader Tyme is her older sister.[29] | |
| Tyme | |||||
| The King of Fighters XV | Dolores | Playable | |||
| Xenoblade Chronicles 3 | Taion | Playable | |||
| 2023 | Forspoken | Alfre Holland | Protagonist | American | [30] |
| Estelle | Protagonist | Undefined | [31] | ||
| Baldur's Gate 3 | Wyll Ravengard | Playable | Undefined | Wyll is one of 10 companions the player can choose recruit. He is also playable as an Orgin character.[32] | |
| Street Fighter 6 | Kimberly | Playable | |||
| 2024 | Floyd Lawton "Deadshot" | Playable | American | Deadshot is one of four playable characters in this game.[33] | |
| Amanda Waller | NPC | American | Director of the Suicide Squad and powerful figure in U.S. politics. She sends the Suicide Squad out to target a mind controlled Justice League. | ||
| John Stewart | NPC | American | A Green Lantern and one of the heroes in the Justice League who is under Brainiac's mind control. |