Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a game that has recently been released and has since become a topic of controversy within the gaming community. The controversy has to deal with the lack of inclusion of basically everything besides straight white men. This doesn’t really come as a surprise given the environment the entertainment industry is under as a whole and white washing things in general has been under increased scrutiny. Need anyone be reminded of the Iron Fist Netflix show?
While the gut reaction is to jump in and pile on the negative reviews there are foils to this controversy. For those that don’t know Kingdom Come: Deliverance was made to be historically accurate, and as it takes place in mediaeval central Europe (Bohemia specifically) the case for color could seem rather moot. This is the stance the developers have taken at least, having said they consulted historians throughout the development of the game to make it as historically accurate as they could. Hearing this at least for me, gives them a bit more of a pass on the issue rather than if it had been taking place in some location where there were historically more people of color there. However, the plot thickens. One of the developers, it has been found is seemingly an advocate for at the very least the alt-right, which for the uninformed, is an easier place to find some racism and bigotry than others. Not to say that is the case by any means for anyone who identifies with the alt-right, but more the assumptions made about the general beliefs about the group.
All that being said, could this mean that this one developer perpetuated a game that advocates for white dominance or something along those lines, maybe? I think it is worth remembering though that there are 80 or so other people developing this game that I’m sure would not be comfortable following these ideas. He later made a statement that what he says only reflect him personally and apologizes for any assumptions that have been made based off that on the team. I think it’s a stretch to say that this one guy influenced the entire property this way. However, it doesn’t help the game escape the controversy around it.
The bottom line in all this for me is that the game was probably not made to be intentionally negligent to the inclusion of other ethnicities. And I do appreciate the effort involved in being historically accurate, but in a medium where you press a button to stab someone or use a slider to pick your outfit realism can only go so far anyways. So I think it is more important to be inclusive in this small instance that takes a very narrow piece out of the accuracy to be more inclusive and make a game that is relatable to a wider audience in every sense of the word.