Bethesda’s latest interstellar blockbuster, Starfield, features an extensive character creator, with dozens of options ranging from physical looks to backstories and lore.
One small aspect of this character creation is choosing your character’s preferred pronoun—an aspect that led some players to invoke the political card and call for a boycott of Starfield and Bethesda.
Popular singer and music YouTuber Dan Vasc announced his refund request for Starfield. He claims that the game is stained by real-life ideologies when it should serve as a way to escape reality. He went on to create a short video expressing his dissatisfaction with Bethesda’s attempt to ‘current day’ Starfield and RPG fans.
His video and announcement garnered quite the attention, especially from big names in the video game and entertainment industries. YouTuber The Act Man reacted sharply to Vasc’s video.
In a reply to the post, he also made the comparison between Starfield and Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian Studios’ smash hit from August. The game features many customization options that allow players total freedom in character creation that go well beyond pronoun choice.
Mutahar of SomeOrdinaryGamers also commented on the video, saying that the game’s frequent loading screens are more of an issue to be angry about than the inclusion of pronouns, ending his remarks with “what a baby.”
Nevertheless, reactions to Vasc weren’t all negative. One user praised the content creator for being passionate about raising his voice.
As per Mutahar’s tweet, Starfield has bigger worries than pronouns. As mentioned, Starfield’s loading screens have been heavily criticized, for example. The game’s exploration has also been called “pointless filler.” With so many relevant discussions on Starfield‘s core gameplay loop, graphics, and otherwise, why pronouns would ever be brought up remains a mystery. After all, Starfield is a roleplaying game, and pronoun choice is just another aspect of the player’s agency.
Starfield is already available in early access for preorders. It’s already a hit, amassing hundreds of thousands of players on Steam alone. No doubt many will join this conversation (alongside so many others) when the game finally launches worldwide on Sept. 6th.
