You’d think after flushing millions down the drain on failed foreign game projects, snapping up Western studios to pump out “diverse and inclusive” flops like Unknown 9: Awakening, and screwing up Blue Protocol so badly they had to kill off their online division, Bandai Namco would finally get a clue. But nope, they’re doubling down on the ideological invasion of video games.
For those who were pumped about Freedom Wars coming back from the dead, brace yourselves. When Freedom Wars Remastered drops on January 10th, the game will ditch male and female descriptors in favor of some half-assed “inclusive” body type nonsense. Another classic bites the dust in the name of identity politics.
This shouldn’t shock anyone. Hell, I should be the one getting roasted for not seeing it coming when Freedom Wars‘ remaster was announced. Bandai Namco has been pulling this stunt for a while now, just look at SYNDUALITY: Echo of Ada, which also ditched gender terminology in favor of body type descriptors. And let’s not forget Elden Ring and Tekken 8, same damn story.
Calling it “inclusive” doesn’t change the fact that swapping “male” and “female” for crap like “Body Type A” and “Body Type B” reeks of hollow pandering instead of anything genuinely meaningful.
Bandai Namco’s obsession with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has been making waves for a while, and it’s no stretch to say their financial troubles are tied to it. They’re dead set on making games “welcoming to all” translation: pandering to a microscopic audience of people who claim to be “non-binary” or whatever else, instead of either a man or a woman.
This tiny group doesn’t even play games, but here we are, with companies like Bandai Namco (and Square Enix) bending over backward to appease social media activists instead of focusing on the 99% of their actual player base, men and women, who just want solid games free from this bullshit.
I was initially excited about the announcement of Freedom Wars making a comeback. The action RPG, originally released in 2014 for the PlayStation Vita, stood out with its unique dystopian setting. In a future where resources are scarce, humanity is confined to city-states called Panopticons, and individuals without specialized skills are deemed criminals, sentenced to extensive prison terms simply for existing.
Players take on the role of a customizable protagonist sentenced to one million years, working to reduce this sentence through dangerous missions against alien entities known as Abductors.
The game gained acclaim for its fast-paced combat, strategic mission structure, and the “Thorn” mechanic, which allowed players to grapple and maneuver during battles, the gameplay itself is rather reminiscent of Monster Hunter and God Eater. Additionally, players were accompanied by android companions called “Accessories,” who monitored their actions, reinforcing the game’s themes of surveillance and control.
Unfortunately, it’s within the character customization system that Freedom Wars Remastered stumbles. Bandai Namco released a system trailer designed to build excitement just days before the game’s release. The trailer provides an overview of the game’s dystopian setting, highlights the significant graphical improvements compared to the Vita version, and showcases the variety of in-game missions players will undertake to reduce their prison sentences, or die trying.
However, the trailer also reveals modernized adjustments to character customization, reflecting Bandai Namco’s continued adherence to DEI initiatives.
In Freedom Wars Remastered, players will still have the ability to choose between multiple voices, just like in the original game. However, instead of being labeled as male or female, the voices are now categorized as “Type A” and “Type B,” a change consistent with many of Bandai Namco’s recent releases.
In the original Vita version, even in its English localization, voice options were explicitly identified as male or female.
Furthermore, it appears that the original game’s voice synthesis feature may have been removed in the remaster.
Gamers have made it clear they don’t want these changes. Removing male and female terminology doesn’t benefit players and seems aimed at appeasing a small, yet vocal group. This decision alienates the broader audience for the sake of pandering to a niche demographic that aren’t involved with the gaming hobby.
Even within the LGBT community, most individuals still identify as either male or female, even the ones who think they can somehow rewrite basic biology. This doesn’t improve the gameplay in any way—it’s just rejecting reality for no good reason.
Of course, it goes without mentioning that Bandai Namco would have quietly axed the original game’s male and female gender options for character creation too, because if they’ve removed male and female descriptors from character voices why wouldn’t they erase such terms outright?
Even if the trailer doesn’t explicitly show it, we all know what’s up.
Intentionally screwing up a game just to tick diversity and inclusivity boxes is a surefire way to piss off your actual audience, the people who would have happily bought Freedom Wars Remastered.
The idea that “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” is a lie pushed by activists. Companies don’t blow millions of dollars on PR just for fun; they do it to protect their reputation. If bad publicity really worked, all this ideological pandering would boost sales instead of leaving companies like Bandai Namco with flop after flop.
The only time bad publicity helps is when nobody knows who you are in the first place.
If you’re going to intentionally ruin a product without explanation, don’t be surprised when people choose to play the originals instead of giving you their money or time. For those willing to forgo the multiplayer aspect of Freedom Wars, the game runs comfortably on the Vita3K emulator, where it’s listed as “Playable.”
The use of male and female descriptors in video games might seem trivial since their presence in character creators is fleeting. Yet, at the urging of social media advocates and hedge fund investors selectively backing companies based on ESG scores, these elements are being systematically erased.
The remaster of Freedom Wars exemplifies this trend, where a decade-old game is reworked with questionable adjustments under the guise of “inclusivity.”If male and female terminologies, which align with 99% of the world’s population, are truly insignificant, then why is there such a need to erase them?
This raises a broader concern: what else has been altered, removed, or retrofitted to align with arbitrary diversity and inclusivity checkboxes within Freedom Wars Remastered? Changes like these alienate the overwhelming majority of consumers while chasing an illusory audience that may not even engage with the product.
Instead of enhancing the experience, they serve as a reminder of how corporate priorities have shifted away from delivering compelling gameplay toward satisfying external ideological demands.
Gamers deserve better than pointless changes that come off as ideological gimmicks rather than meaningful progress. Concepts like innovative gameplay and, most importantly, respect for the audience are being abandoned by companies like Bandai Namco, who seem to view ideological pandering as more profitable than simply selling games.
