Do you play Overwatch? Anecdotes follow from someone that's gamed for 25+ years (I'd love to see data). On PC at least, the amount of female players is astounding. Most (not all) play Mercy, which seems to be a mix of she's easy to play for new gamers, plus she's female. Followed by DVA.
I've noticed the same thing but Overwatch is NOT a good game for casual or novice gamers because a large percentage of games involve someone getting upset in team chat, blaming others, huge amounts of negativity, and the occasional troll spewing racial slurs.
