The developers of Battlefield V stand by their decision to make women playable in the game. They have some strong, clear words.
When Battlefield V was announced, the initial excitement quickly faded. There was unrest on social media when a woman was prominently featured in the trailer. Voices were raised: “Women in World War II? How absurd is that?” Patrick Söderlund, the Chief Creative Officer of EA, had some strong words on this. “You have two options: Accept it or just don’t buy the game. I can live with both.”
No women in World War II – a misconception. According to Söderlund, it is a widespread misconception that there were no women in World War II. “There were numerous women who went to World War II and participated in the battles.” There are some historical records for this, but they are simply less frequently addressed – not yet in video games either.
“The uneducated are complaining.” Söderlund even gets more direct and calls the complaining individuals uneducated. He says, “These are the uneducated people – they don’t understand that this is a plausible scenario; and listen up: This is a game. In the gaming sector, there is more gender diversity than ever before. There are a lot of female players who want to play as women, and many men who want to play as a tough woman.”
Several weeks ago, the lead producer Aleksander Grøndal explained on this topic that
