No video game genre has been more marinated in testosterone than the first-person shooter, the genre to which Battlefield belongs. Yet the fresh memory of the Battlefield backlash, and Ubisoft’s apparent attempt to forestall a similar response, highlights how lopsided the gender makeup of playable characters in violent video games continues to be, and how sensitive a subset of gamers is to increasing inclusiveness in genres that have historically skewed toward male players and protagonists. The Valhalla reveal hasn’t provoked a toxic internet tantrum. "Battlefield has abandoned historical accuracy for political correctness" /OpCRFV2zV8- David Milner May 23, 2018 Battlefield developer EA DICE, which had already added a playable character from the Russian Women’s Battalion to a 2017 expansion to World War I shooter Battlefield 1, stood behind its decision and created a hashtag, #everyonesbattlefield, to counter the #NotMyBattlefield hashtag that some of the critics and misogynistic trolls had rallied around.
Less than two years ago, though, the announcement that World War II shooter Battlefield V would feature playable female characters prompted an uproar from an outspoken portion of players who protested the decision, often framing their objections on historical grounds. Even the series’ history- centric “Discovery Tour” mode lets players ride around on a unicorn-and not the historically accurate kind.
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Perfect veracity isn’t exactly Assassin’s Creed’s calling card this is, after all, a series that centers on a virtual reality–genetic memory machine called the Animus an ancient, highly advanced species called the Isu and characters painlessly plummeting from tall towers into bales of hay. It might seem surprising that Ubisoft would feel any pressure to justify the presence of a playable female character in Valhalla, regardless of her historical accuracy. “It was part of their idea of the world, that women and men are equally formidable in battle,” Noël said. Noël noted that while archeological sources are unclear on whether women served as warriors in Viking culture, Norse sagas and myths often featured fierce female characters and fighters. On the day the trailer debuted, the company published an interview with historian Thierry Noël, who worked on the game as a content adviser. Ubisoft seemed to anticipate some doubts about the historical accuracy of a ninth-century woman warrior kicking Anglo-Saxon ass. Ubisoft’s press release promised raids “more action-packed and brutal than anything Assassin’s Creed has seen before, thanks to a visceral new combat system that lets you bash, dismember, and decapitate your foes.”
A choice of playable protagonist isn’t a first for the franchise- Valhalla’s predecessor, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, also allowed players to select either a male or female main character-but whereas Odyssey expanded the series’ roleplaying elements, Valhalla seems set to double down on bloodshed. Although the game’s marketing materials and trailer featured a male main character, Valhalla will give gamers the option of playing as either a male or female version of its Viking protagonist. In April, Ubisoft announced the next installment in its never-ending Assassin’s Creed series, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
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