So my real question is how come a game about roman gladiator slave battles has a female as the slave master? I would have assumed for diversity points but at this point I'm pretty sure that isn't the case.
In ancient roman law there were instances when woman was allowed more rights than usual.
It fluctuated over the periods, but very very generalised women could own property, including land, could not be deprived unvolunteraly of that property and could write a will on the property they owned. They couldn't make any decisions regarding the usage of said property as long as they had a close male relative. Family property was technically shared, but in practice husband had the last word and all the proper ownership rights (such as the right to sell).
But women could be partially emancipated in several cases:
1. Priesthood of Vesta aka Vesta Virgins. They were their own women unless they fuck someone. The punishment for breaking vows was extremely severe and deadly. I think it was pouring of molten copper down the throat.
2. Widow with the appropriate emancipation court decision. This was the most common reason for a woman to acquire the full rights. This came from the understand that when woman moves out of her fathers house she stops being under his command. And when her husband dies she can choose to not go back under her fathers will. Instead she could petition the court to grant her the full rights until she marries again. Some chose not to marry and be emancipated. What I dont remember is if women came under command of her son when he became adult.
3. Inhereting part of estate from her father. It could be specified in the will, or happen because there was no will (without the will the law mandated that property would be separated between children equally, something we still use all over the world), but basically since women became a sole owner of said estate part by law there was no other way to use property but to give owner emancipation.
I think I remember correctly, maybe not.
There were partially emancipated women, there were women who owned craftshops, were slave-owners and even gladiator-owners, but numbers were far lower thn among men.
What, in my opinion, the game is missing is free gladiators. You see, life of a gladiator was short, brutal and full of pain. But it was also full of wine, money and women. A prospect very alluring for a young peasant who has lost everything or never had anything. So not all gladiators were slaves, in fact I've read an opinion couple of years ago that most successful gladiators were free men.