by Danreb VictorioMay is Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in the United States, and in celebration of this special month, Steam has a 10-day activation from May 1 through May 10 featuring games by and about made by development teams with a focus on the AAPI diaspora presented by AAPI in Gaming, a community platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of the Asian American and Pacific Islander diaspora in the video game industry.
About AAPI / ANHPI Heritage Month
For those unfamiliar, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, also referred to by some communities and organizations as Asian/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (ANHPI) for those of Asian descent outside of America, recognizes their contributions, culture, and history. AAPI Heritage Month is celebrated in May to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, which was built largely of Chinese immigrants. Generations of AAPI/ANHPI individuals have shaped world culture, and this month represents a key opportunity to acknowledge their contributions.
Making history by acknowledging history
This marks the first time such a third party event on Steam has happened in commemoration of AAPI Heritage Month, so as someone with Filipino-American roots, I found it important to use SmashPad as a platform to celebrate and help promote the sale. That said, allow me another moment of transparency — I’m also a volunteer on the AAPI staff. There’s a reason why games like Until Then (which was recently released on Xbox) and moments like the Jollibee x Final Fantasy XIV Online collaboration get my attention. They simply mean more to people like me. Representation matters.
When the AAPI in Gaming staff brainstormed what they’ll be doing this month, this Steam sale was a big part of it. As someone in games media who also works professionally with a gaming-related non-profit, I believe a lot of power and responsibility can come from video games, and I can’t even begin to say how much it means to me when I see any sort of representation in the medium. A lot of people, those of AAPI descent included, live, breathe, and dream about games. So when we find out that “one of us” is responsible for a game, everything just seems more possible.
“AAPI-made games are important because there are too many narratives and many studios that do not reflect or understand our day-to-day experiences. There’s an oversaturation of white narratives in gaming, which have been used as a way to gatekeep AAPI game developers from achieving similar success in games,” said Mika Dilig, one of AAPI in Gaming’s Co-Founders. “Model minority myth damages the image of the AAPI individual, which limits them to very technical roles with no pathway to leadership or creative positions. This results in AAPI gamers and game developers feeling less represented when expressing ourselves on gaming platforms, which is why making this Steam sale happen was such an integral first step to breaking those barriers.”
Featured Games
Like I said, it’s all about the games. Below, you’ll find a list of the games and their featured in the activity with special pricing from May 1 to May 10.
- Battle Suit Aces
- Battle Chef Brigade Deluxe
- Eliza
- Kaizen: A Factory Story
- Melatonin
- Venba
- Danju
- Mizuchi
- Desert Angels
- The Spirit Lift
- Tree Trunk Brook
- 1000xRESIST
The following games aren’t out yet, but they’re also being spotlighted.
- The Last Winter Knight
- Tower Lab
- lily’s world XD
- HyperTyper 2000
- Name of the Will
- Turning Manor
- Red Rebellion
- Where are you, Cinderella?
- Prove You’re Human (No Steam page yet, Bluesky linked)
The titles bolded above are my personal recommendations that I’ve played before, and I gotta give Venba another shoutout for reasons you should read in my review if you haven’t heard of that one.
With the activity being only 10 days long and the entire month of May being AAPI Heritage Month, I strongly encourage you to support by buying any of these games. If not, at least wishlist them and learn more about them so it’ll be easier to pick them up in the future. You don’t have to take my word for it…
“AAPI developers are consistently underrepresented in the games industry despite being a large part of the player community,” said Shavonne Yu, another of AAPI in Gaming’s Co-Founders. “Buying their games is the most direct way to support them. Every purchase funds the next game, the next story, the next developer who gets to see themselves reflected in the art they love.”
The sale runs May 1-10. Grab something, share it with a friend, and help us make AAPI voices heard!”
EDITOR’S NOTE & DISCLAIMER – In its current form, SmashPad doesn’t post or benefit monetarily from affiliate links. AAPI in Gaming also does not monetarily benefit from this sale. Both SmashPad and AAPI in Gaming align on this activity and article being a cultural resource, and we believe spotlighting these games will encourage more AAPI developers to build more games from their experiences.