Ubisoft like many games companies has been under the hammer of allegations claims and accused of inequality of race and gender within their games. Sadly media runs on negativity and while people do need to atone for their wrongdoings, I do not feel that the trailer for Assassin's Creed Valhalla made me feel inferior as a woman or angry at the lack of a female lead.
Despite this Ubisoft being one of the main forerunners for equality and inclusiveness in their games have made a second version of the reveal trailer, replacing our male protagonist with the female alternate.
We have seen death threats levelled at a huge host of Naughty Dogs team as well as various other outcries over other games and their content.
Games are transcending the boundaries of just being games now. We have cinematic masterpieces such as Death Stranding, Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us Part 2, among others. I think it is time to look inward at ourselves and question whether challenging such boundaries should really cause so much upset. With the next gen consoles on the horizon we are entering a world of gaming never seen before. New exciting ideas, different directions and increasingly challenging narratives. If this upsets and disturbs you, perhaps stick to other great titles that do not challenge the boundaries and take as many risks.
We are supposed to be progressing as a society. Being inclusive of sexual orientation, faith, gender and race, yet while the world is still suffering and we have campaigns such as Black Lives Matter, I still see so much racist abuse and hate within the gaming community.
Love the hobby, love the creativity and the journey, turn your hate where it can be used more productively. If a game offends you rather than reacting on gut instinct look inward, maybe you'll discover something.
It is time to change.
