“I can be a girl in Fortnite… This is not okay”: EA Defended Battlefield 5’s Greatest Controversy That Call of Duty: WWII Got Away With

In today’s world of gaming, there shouldn’t be any distinctions between men and women. However, not everyone can accept this fact. A similar thing happened with Battlefield 5. Before the release of this popular title, the trailer of the game stirred serious controversy.

Why was there a backlash? Although women did serve in combat during World War II, some fans claimed that the game’s reveal trailer, which showed a woman fighting on the front lines, compromised authenticity for political correctness. This baseless criticism was later smashed by Electronic Arts. However, the same thing can’t be said about Call of Duty: WWII.

EA Didn’t Hold Back Against the Criticisms Towards Battlefield 5

The inclusion of female soldiers in Battlefield 5‘s World War II setting may have infuriated some online gamers, who reacted to the inclusion with the hashtag #NotMyBattlefield. However, developers Electronic Arts and DICE are unconcerned with the response.

EA chief creative officer Patrick Söderlund stated in an interview with Gamasutra that the developer is not interested in receiving criticism for expanding its gaming offerings. This is what the CCO had to say about all the backlash:

We felt like in today’s world—I have a 13-year-old daughter that when the trailer came out and she saw all the flak, she asked me, ‘Dad, why’s this happening?’ She plays Fortnite, and says, ‘I can be a girl in Fortnite. Why are people so upset about this?’ She looked at me and she couldn’t understand it. And I’m like, ok, as a parent, how the hell am I gonna respond to this, and I just said, ‘You know what? You’re right. This is not okay.’

He gave two options to the people “who don’t understand it” – either accept it or don’t buy the game. He also stated that he doesn’t have any problem with either of the options. According to Söderlund, the dev team itself also pushed for women in Battlefield 5.

In my personal opinion, those brainless people didn’t throw backlash because it was a question mark on the historical accuracy of the event. They did that because they can’t stand with a game that has female characters in it.

A recent example is the new female protagonist in Ghost of Yotei. Even popular streamers couldn’t stop themselves from spreading hate because there is a female character in the recently launched Call of Duty title.

Activision Backed Off When It Was About Call of Duty: WWII

Without a doubt, women served alongside men during World War II. The Soviet Red Army, which employed over 800,000 women to fight the Nazi invasion, is the most prominent example.

Additionally, thousands of them were chosen to fight in the streets as combatants. Call of Duty: WWII effectively illustrates this, as you can hear women fighting and yelling alongside men.

A few of them even received the Hero of the Soviet Union award, which is the Soviet equivalent of the Medal of Honor. In actuality, about 100 female soldiers were among the 11,000 recipients of the aforementioned medal.

In the Soviet Union at least, women did experience ground combat during World War II. Other Westerners who fought in the Great War were either less receptive to the concept or thought it unnecessary given their situation.

Hence, Call of Duty: WWII’s portrayal of showing female soldiers was historically accurate. That is why there is no point in spreading hate because of this.

However, sense-less people do exist, as well as their logic-less shouts. But the most disappointing part is that Activision never stood against these backlashes, just the way EA did for Battlefield 5.

This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire