Call of Duty Franchise Adds Non-Binary Option In Latest Release
Gaming franchise ‘Call Of Duty’ has introduced a non-binary option as part of the new ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War’ campaign.
Along with choosing their gender, players can also select their name, skin colour, and origin story.
The usual male and female options are there, as well as a non-binary option. Characters will refer to the player with the proper “they” and “them” pronouns in voice and text throughout the campaign to reflect the choice.
In a recent interview, Dan Vondrak of Raven Software opened up about the new gender option, stating: “It was important for us, when we started the character creation system – as I mention, I grew up in the ’80s, and my formative gaming years were in the ’80s.”
He continued: “Back then you didn’t have these deep character creation systems. You had to make everything up in your head. One of our goals was to get back into the mindset that we have, for the ones that grew up in the ’80s, where everything lived in your head.
“When it came to gender, the same thing was thrown out. Why can’t we leave that classified? there’s no reason we can’t do that.
“We’re already going to make it change the he and she, so it was easy enough for us to use those different pronouns there as well. That was where the decision came into play for that choice.”
In the past, the $9.7 billion franchise faced some backlash for having their non-playable characters discuss sexuality and reference the controversial phrase “don’t ask don’t tell”.
As ‘Gay Times’ report, LGBT+ representation in gaming has had its fair share of pushback with many gamers accusing developers of being “social justice warriors” and promoting the “gay agenda”.
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‘The Sims’ has been banned in several countries because of its LGBT+ content
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