Video games, as fun as they are, sometimes need a few changes here and there. Luckily for us, other players are more than happy to share the modifications they’ve made. However, there are some mods that can get controversial, and the pronoun-removing mod is an example of that.
(Photo : Bethseda Game Studios)
Nexus Waves Goodbye to Naysayers
If you’ve ever tried downloading mods for video games, you’ve probably come across Nexus seeing as it is one of the biggest libraries for it. Just recently, a mod was uploaded that takes away the option to choose a pronoun for the player’s character.
It’s hard to see the harm it could inflict on players, but some seem to think that they need to download the mod. Nexus, on the other hand, is not psyched about the mod and removed it from the website, which upset a lot of players.
The ones who weren’t happy about the removal of the mod from the website even threatened to stop using Nexus to download mods. The site doesn’t much care for it, stating that they aren’t sad that the people with complaints are leaving, as mentioned in Kotaku.
Bethesda released Starfield back on September 6th and it has been wildly popular among gamers. Although, the pronoun feature sparked debates among players, accusing the game of being “woke.” Too bad for them, Nexus no longer has the mod that can change that.
Nexus Mods expressed that it doesn’t see the site as the “police of what people can and cannot mod into (or out of) their games,” but they can decide what kind of mods they can host on their website, and the pronoun mod was just not one of them.
In their own words, Nexus says: “It is certainly within our rights not to host content on our platform,” clarifying that it wasn’t political. The site simply believes in diversity and inclusion and the “removal of diversity” does not promote a positive modding community.
“A reinforcement that this has been the best course of action has been some of the hatred, vitriol, and threats of violence coming from a very, very small minority of the community,” the site continued, adding that they are “not said to see them go.”
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The Significant Role of Mods
Game modifications have played a huge part in the gaming industry, especially PC games since it’s much easier to install. Some titles are even downloaded just because of their modding potential, such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, among others.
Video games that enable mods allow their players to create a more personalized experience, which could encourage them to play. The replay value also increases since players can play vanilla first and add mods on the second playthrough.
In a way, modders help developers out for free. Each title has a few developers, more if it’s an AAA game. Modders are kind of like an extension of that team, as explained by Game Developer, which grants them access to dozens if not thousands of new content.
Related: Hogwarts Legacy: 7 Gameplay Quality, Cosmetic Mods You Can Try Out