Today, the servers hum a little differently. The daily quests reset, the battle passes tick on, but here in the U.S., we hit a national pause button. It’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day—a day off for many, a day on for reflection and service for others. At first glance, the world of polygons and progress bars might seem galaxies away from the civil rights marches of the 1960s. But if we take a moment to look closer, the threads of Dr. King’s dream are woven into the very fabric of why we play.

Gaming, at its core, is about experiencing worlds beyond our own. We step into the boots of soldiers, smugglers, farmers, and fighters from every conceivable background. This isn’t just escapism; it’s a form of empathy training. We learn the rules of a new society, feel the weight of its conflicts, and fight for causes through someone else’s eyes. Dr. King’s work was fundamentally about demanding the world see from another’s perspective—to recognize shared humanity. In a way, every narrative-driven game is a tiny exercise in that same mission.

Yet, we can’t ignore the dissonance. We log into these vast, interconnected worlds and sometimes find them reflecting the very injustices Dr. King fought against. Toxicity in voice chats, harassment based on identity, and the slow but ongoing fight for better representation in game development and character rosters—these are the battles within our battle royales. The holiday asks us: are the worlds we’re building, or even just inhabiting, fair? Are they welcoming? Do they judge a player by the content of their skill, and not by the sound of their voice or the avatar they’ve chosen?

This is where the “day on” mentality clicks in. Dr. King’s legacy isn’t a passive history lesson; it’s a call to action. In gaming terms, it’s not just consuming the content, but being an active participant in shaping the community.

Play with purpose today.

The Nine-Inch Sandwich Team