Let’s Change the Game.
As Bob Dylan once sang, “the times they are a changing.” Social media channels and advertising companies are cracking down on and distancing themselves from any gun related content. Unfortunately for airsoft, this also includes our sport/hobby. It’s easy to see why the untrained eye can’t make the distinction between airsoft guns and real firearms, since airsoft guns are replicas of real firearms. Almost every single airsoft gun in existence is based off of an actual firearm. (Except for maybe the rare HALO gun?)
If you have played airsoft for any length of time, you are not unfamiliar with the challenges facing our hobby. It’s been banned in Australia, it’s faced multiple issues in Europe and the UK, and Canada is currently fighting legislation that wants to ban airsoft. The US has dealt with their fair share of anti-airsoft legislation as well, most notably in California and the Northeast.
What is the solution to all this?
The answer has always been: Educate the public. But, unfortunately, the simple appearance of airsoft is a gigantic hurdle that the industry has not been able to overcome, no matter how many social media campaigns or monetary donations have been made to foundations or local politicians. The fact that airsoft guns look and function almost exactly like real firearms will always be both the draw and the detriment of airsoft. While the 1:1 scale is perfect for safely teaching budding firearm enthusiasts the basics of weapon knowledge, it can be an almost insurmountable hurdle for recruiting new players into airsoft. Parents who aren’t familiar with firearms will find them scary and intimidating and will be extremely hesitant to allow them in their homes. People who have not grown up around nor been immersed in gun culture will generally find airsoft to be a romancing of real life violence, rather than a harmless real life expression of gaming and role play culture.
In order to bring more “outsiders” into airsoft - and to grow airsoft as a whole, we need to expand our thinking and diversify its offerings. Embrace the cultures of gaming, LARP and cosplay and branch out into the future.
Companies should start making more futuristic and innovatively designed airsoft blasters that aren’t replicas of real firearms. Make replicas of guns from futuristic video games, like Borderlands, No Man’s Sky, Destiny - the list could go on. Event promoters should host events that revolve around live action role play along with objective based gaming. Fields and events should concentrate on the experience of both the gamer and the observer. Currently, airsoft is not an observation friendly hobby, and that makes it more difficult to bring in fresh customers. The only place for people to watch airsoft currently is social media - whom is also cracking down on sharing of videos and content. If you want to watch an airsoft game or event in real-time, there is virtually no way to do that as a casual observer. It’s easy to get fans involved in sports like football, basketball, soccer, etc. because they are such spectator-friendly hobbies. A few airsoft fields have spectator areas, but they are few and far between. Other fields have started to include vending areas and cafes - even arcade and bar areas, which drastically improves the overall player/spectator experience and makes the customer more likely to spend more time and money at that facility.
Incorporating Live Action Role Play (LARP) into airsoft has been extremely successful at growing and diversifying the hobby. Milsim West has most notably and successfully incorporated this aspect with their Insurgency game series. This style of airsoft event has quickly become wildly popular with airsofters as it allows them to use their imaginations and expands the types of gaming scenarios available within the event. Players are allowed to role play as citizens, politicians, business owners, entrepreneurs - the possibilities are limitless. This allows the players to create the experience that they want to get out of the airsoft event, rather than relying on a company to provide the experience, which is beneficial for everyone. This style of event is also a very easy way for someone new to the hobby to get into airsoft. You can play an entire game without ever using your airsoft blaster. I’ve played “non-violent” roles at events like these, LARPing as Press, an anti-war hippie, and most recently, a politician. Some role players choose to run clubs, restaurants, churches, movie theatres, casinos, convenience shops or tech stands. Other players choose to operate taxi or delivery services, as well as serving as town infrastructure - the possibilities are limitless for the player.
Adding futuristic airsoft blasters would also help to bring more of the fantasy gaming aspect into the hobby, as well as allow it to branch into other genres, like cyberpunk and futuristic apocalyptic or space scenarios. Content creator @justohl has been doing this with existing airsoft guns, and it has quickly become wildly popular on Instagram. This can only be beneficial for airsoft, as it gives the hobby an entirely new and different breath of life and creativity.
In order to stay relevant and continue to add players to the game, airsoft must continue to evolve. If we do not continue to evolve the game, the game will die, it is simple as that. Just as businesses have to constantly improve, innovate and evolve in order to keep their businesses alive, so must the airsoft industry.
What do you hope to see as part of the future of airsoft?
