Tell Me Why is Free on Steam and Xbox for Pride

Tell Me Why is Free on Steam and Xbox for Pride

Tell Me Why, an episodic narrative adventure, and one of the only major games starring a trans protagonist, is free on Steam and Xbox consoles for Pride month.

DON’T NOD‘s telepathic, twin detective mystery game focuses on Alyson, a reserved introvert, and her brother Tyler, an outgoing flirt. The two have to work together, and sift through their memories to solve the inexplicable cold case murder of their mother. Tell Me Why broke barriers by being the first AAA game featuring a trans man, Tyler, and worked with cultural, mental health, and transgender advocates to make sure the story didn’t fumble on those fronts.

The developers also released an in-depth FAQ that gives slight spoilers to answer fan questions like “Is Tyler’s birth name, or deadname, used anywhere in the game?” and “Does Tell Me Why depict homophobia against Michael, a queer Tlingit man?” Even if the main narrative left something to be desired, Tell Me Why handles a lot of concepts that other AAA games refuse to engage with, or embarrassingly flop when they attempt to. It was also free last Pride month, but if you missed it, I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Pick up Tell Me Why for free on @Xbox consoles, the Microsoft Store and Steam for all of June 2022 – then give the money you’ve saved to trans communities.

Learn more in our latest blog post: https://t.co/mfPJpV697d pic.twitter.com/gSR02Mezgm

— Tell Me Why ????️‍⚧️ (@TellMeWhyGame) June 1, 2022

Today in a blog post, Xbox announced Tell Me Why would be free with the following statement: “Tell Me Why, the award-winning narrative adventure from Dontnod Entertainment and Xbox Publishing, will be available for free on Xbox consoles, the Microsoft Store, and Steam for the entire month of June 2022. To acknowledge that this year has seen a sharp rise in anti-trans sentiment in the United States, Xbox Publishing is accompanying the free period with donations of $25,000 each to Transgender Law Center and Trans Lifeline, two non-profit organizations offering resources and support to trans, non-binary, and genderqueer people.”

Xbox is also planning a Tell Me Why charity livestream to raise funds for Trans Lifeline later this month on Thursday, June 23. What are you waiting for? It’s a pretty cool, groundbreaking game… and it’s free! Go download it.

Author: Deann Hawkins