This may appear to be a small clarification, but I think it sends a worrying message.īy changing its stance and then locking the subreddit thread where much of the debate was taking place, the studio had effectively backed away from a conversation that it needs to be a part of. In the five hours since the story was published, Paradox had gone from standing against the content of the mod, to standing largely against the racist comments made on the mod's Steam Workshop page. Speaking to Eurogamer, he demanded an apology from the developer over its statements and accused it of slander.
HEARTS OF IRON 4 STEAM MODS NOT SHOWING UP MOD
In its bid to avoid confrontation, Paradox even managed to anger the creator of the mod at the centre of the controversy. "This is the last we will comment regarding this particular mod." We interpreted this particular mod as breaking those rules of conduct, however it would appear that the comments surrounding the mod, rather than the mod itself, were the biggest problem. "We have a few rules of conduct that have been in effect for the better part of a decade where racial slurs, among other things, are not allowed. This was followed by a second and final statement, this time from Paradox COO, Susana Meza Graham. "Our job is to make computer games," said Blomberg. As far as he was concerned, the mod had actually been removed because of its description, which contained "several disturbing elements". This started with a post from community manager, Björn Blomberg, who claimed that Eurogamer's report (based on a statement provided by Paradox) was inaccurate. It's hard to see this as anything other than the company losing its nerve. A quick search on Steam reveals similar mods that will ensure the game's human race is only made up of African or Asian people - yet these hadn't been removed.Īs the Stellaris community responded with claims of censorship and hypocrisy, Paradox began to change its message. The Stellaris subreddit, in particular, was flooded with angry fans that didn't believe Paradox had the right to make moral decisions on their behalf.Īside from that, there was also the uncomfortable truth that 'European Phenotype and Names Only (White Humans)' wasn't the only mod of its kind. I think the answer to that question lies in the community's immediate reaction to the decision. Why then, is the mod already back up on the Steam Workshop? The mod was reuploaded within 24 hours. Although Paradox was happy for players to mod its games as they please, there's a line to be drawn when it comes to matters of race and intolerance. Labelling the mod as "discriminatory", the company issued a statement which made its stance pretty clear. Stellaris is an excellent 4X Grand Strategy game in which human empires are made up of multicultural populations. Last week, Paradox pulled a Stellaris mod that altered the game's human race to consist of only white people with European names.
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