Protagonists Lee Everett, Clementine, and Season 3's Javier are original characters created for the games, with the ensemble cast reflecting the setting rather than any mandated swaps or quotas. Diversity appears organically through the cast without driving plot or themes, and developers addressed racial and gender context solely as realistic background elements of the world rather than activist messaging or central premise. The optional same-sex romance path for Clementine with Violet in The Final Season sits alongside straight options with Louis or none at all, keeping player agency intact.

Minor gay side characters such as the established couple Walter and Matthew in Season 2, along with a bisexual flirting option for Javier with Jesus, remain peripheral and do not alter core survival narratives. This restrained approach results in a low woke score, as the elements stay incidental rather than foundational to the premise.