Why do US video game devs hate hair on males so much?

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

Seriously, they're at least getting slightly away from the meaty space marines but even now, almost every male video game character designed by American teams still seems to be either bald or shaved. I just saw a trailer for Lawbreakers and for as creative as the character designs are overall, of the three male characters shown, two are bald and one has his head entirely covered by a mask (but its shape suggests that he's bald under there as well). And when the main character isn't bald, you can bet your ass that several of the enemies, secondary characters and most if not all generic NPCs are. It really gets ridiculous in some games where it looks like a tragic pandemic has exterminated all male cranial pilosity.

Seriously, the only exception I can really think of is Corvo from Dishonored and the Overwatch men (except Reaper, it would seem). Speaking of Overwatch, how ironic is it that despite being balding to illustrate his age, Soldier 76 has a much fuller head of hair than most male characters from US games?

Why do American developers think a bald head looks so great? Is it just so they don't have to animate hair? Because they could achieve the same result with just a short hairstyle. It's not like I have anything against baldness or shaved heads, I just don't understand why it's omnipresent in American games and why devs just can't seem to get over it. Do they seriously not realize how boring and forgettable it makes their characters?

[BorneAgain]

Because long hair on a male video game character peaked in 2001, and US game developers have given up trying to top it since:

[Bub (BLM)]

Easier to animate.

[The Captain]

Game devs will cut corners whenever humanly possible. Male hair is definitely one of those corners cut as it's a lot easier to animate really short/shaved hair than flowing locks. Especially if it's a game in a military setting where that aesthetic fits.

[Bo Rida]

TV and film already tend to limit male long hair to certain types of characters and settings. Videogames add in the animation issue on top.

Somewhere between shaved and long probably isn't as visually striking.

Plus I'd assume a lot more US games are first person (?), hair getting in your FOV is a problem nobody needs... although it would be cool in VR.

[ToyfareMark]

Because of this guy.

[FinalGwen]

It particularly annoys me with games with character creation like Mass Effect. They've got perfectly functional long hair for female characters, and the whole idea is crafting your own vision of the character. Take the extra hour and fit them to the male rigs as well.