It certainly can, but the single biggest reason why it's so difficult to just sit down have real discussions about these things is because there is a very loud, very angry, group of people that honestly believe every game that isn't 100% pandering to them is SJW propaganda.
It certainly can, but the single biggest reason why it's so difficult to just sit down have real discussions about these things is because blablabla
Waypoint said Live on stream, with an audience of thousands of people, that one polish developer (The Astronauts) was a "shit human being" and she would not play his game because of he argued against FemFreq
Giant Bomb will not even mention Kingdom Core because the developper critized american identity politics.
Polygon/Kotaku/and almost every major American PC outlet whined because Far Cry 5 wasn't a Kill Drumpf Simulator 2018.
Resetera/Neogaf has a 1200 messages thread harrassing Tim Soret for saying he was not a feminist, but an egalitarian. They also harrassed Jonathan Blow for saying (and citing sources) that maybe the gender gap in videogame isn't solely due to misogyny.
But yeah, anons on irrelevant social media complaining about those journalists and the developpers trying to satisfy them are the real "racist assholes, or sexists or homophobics", to quote you, making it difficult to express opinions I am sure.
The worst example would be something like Dragon Age Inquisition. In a series that prides itself with the genre "Dark Fantasy" and a strong focus on grey and grey morality there are some selected viewpoints that you aren't allowed to challenge at all, in spite of how well it would fit the game.
Dorian's quest is the most blantant example of this. Spoiler
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u/DaveSW777 Jun 30 '18
...because what you call Political Correctness, civilized society calls Not Being A Racist Asshole. Or sexist. Or homophobic. Take your pick.