A massively popular computer game has sparked confusion and outrage after it spontaneously added pronouns while removing gender options at the same time.
The game Old School RuneScape was launched in 2013 and was meant to maintain the 2007 version of the game. It is heralded as a classic by gaming fans and costs about $80 annually to play.
Peaking at 205,000 concurrent players as recently as November 2023, fans have rejoiced over how developers seek their opinion through polls then modify the game accordingly.
That is until recently when developers decided remove the option to choose male or female when creating a character in the game, and replaced it with "Body type A" and "Body type B."
'Body type A and body type B? Have you been living under a rock for the past decade?'
Furthermore, developers decided to add in pronoun selections, providing the options "He/him," "They/them," and "She/her."
"We didn’t vote on this!" a user said to the game's moderators on X. "I play RuneScape to escape from this bulls**t not to be forced to see it! This WILL cost you players... I'm debating on canceling my membership."
A moderator, who goes by the name Mod Ash and has over 140,000 followers on X, responded to the user and said he didn't expect players to see the text so often.
"Thanks for letting me know you no longer wish to play due to players having that text option. All the best with your future gaming," he added with a smiley face.
'You poll this but not pronouns?'
Just hours before that moderator's response, a fan actually predicted that concerns about the change would be shrugged off by the RuneScape team:
"Body type A and body type B? Have you been living under a rock for the past decade? Gamers don't want this garbage," the irate user wrote. "Well I'm done: 18 years a player but I'm done," they continued.
"You're gonna say 'good riddance, no one forces you to play you fascist bigot.' but guess what: I don't think I'll be the only one. Good luck with this 'new and inclusive' direction you're going in."
More fans took issue with the fact that the inclusion of pronouns and removal of gender was not a topic that developers polled their customers about. This move by the game creators proved to be even more puzzling due to the fact that other polls are conducted for the most miniscule of details.
"You poll this but not pronouns?" one fan asked, attaching an image of a poll that asked ""Should the green pixel be removed from the Construction skill icon?"
Over 50,000 gamers responded to that particular pool showcasing just how responsive the fanbase is.
Another user who has an account that is over 8,200 days old (22 years) noted that he didn't think he would be renewing his membership due to the recent controversy.
"I'd been thinking about renewing my membership and playing OSRS again after taking a break for a year or so. I don't think I will be doing that any time soon."
Production company Jagex has a history of activism that has caused blowback in the past.
In 2017, a Pride update was widely mocked for its use of rainbows and has since become an infamous event in the game's history.
At the time, developers asked users in a poll whether they wanted a "gay pride event." Users overwhelmingly rejected the idea with 66% of the respondents saying "no." Over 20,000 people participated in that poll.
On its website, Jagex also gives an annual "gender pay gap report" that touts "the importance of a diverse workforce" and complains about the lack of "industry-wide female representation."
However, in its latest report, the company was only able to lower its own pay disparity by 0.1%.
The website reads, "In the report issued for 2022-2023, our expectations that our gender pay gap would decrease were met with a reduction in our Gender Pay Gap from 25.9% to 25.8%."
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