Lords of the Fallen publisher says it won’t integrate ‘social or political agencies’ into its games
Lords of the Fallen’s publisher appears to credit ‘DEI’ as the reason behind some high-profile failures
Lords of the Fallen publisher CI Games has said that it won’t be “integrating any social or political agencies” into its games.
During an investor call attended by Strefa Inwestorow (via PC Gamer), CI Games was questioned about the company’s stance on “DEI in gaming.” In response, marking director Ryan Hill said that the company was focussing on “excellent user experience with compelling thematics and characters created specifically for core and adjacent audiences.”
He said: “While some video games have recently taken the opportunity to embed social or political agendas within their experiences, it is clear that many players do not appreciate this, and as a result, we have seen a number of high-profile releases underperforming commercially during the last year alone.
“Our games will always be developed to maximise player enjoyment and commercial success, and as such, we will not be integrating any social or political agencies into these experiences going forward having observed the high risk this can present.”
DEI, or diversity, equity and inclusion organizational frameworks, is largely referred to in processes like recruitment that look to promote the fair treatment all people, particularly groups who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination.
In recent years the term has become a catch-all for a marginal section of the video game audience to rally behind when a game attempts to broach subjects that are perceived to be “too political.”
That same audience has falsely attributed the scheme for a series of high-profile failures like Sony’s Concord while ignoring incredibly diverse successes such as Baldur’s Gate 3.
One high-profile game to receive an “anti-DEI” backlash, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, was delayed for the third time this week.
