Apex Legends is a popular game within the battle royale genre and it has received a series of updates to keep players entertained. Recently Apex Legends began Season 6 and while many were pleased, the game has required some additional updates since the season started. One thing that has been changed in the game is a racial slur and the writer behind Apex Legends has been discussing why the changes were made as well as addressing fan reaction.
Players have enjoyed the diverse character roster in Apex Legends and this is not only because of their specific skill sets but also their personalities. However, the villainous Caustic referred to Crypto as a “rat” in the game and while some thought this was just an insult, it has deeper historical meaning. The term has been used as a way to insult Asian communities in America for many years and as a result, has a history of being a racially-charged insult. Naturally, the team behind Apex Legends were keen to remedy this insult.
The writer behind Apex Legends, Tom Casiello, originally addressed how the dialogue was included in the game, writing, “we run them past people from the community. Coworkers. Friends. The lines didn’t set off alarms at the time, but just because a handful of people weren’t familiar with the slur, doesn’t mean it isn’t one. I apologize to anyone upset by this. We’ll take care of it on our end and continue to do our due diligence, casting a wider net next time. Caustic may be a jerk to Crypto, but that doesn’t mean you should be made to feel bad about who you are.” For many, this seemed to be a legitimate mistake and they will be happy that it is being addressed. However, some responses to the comments from the writer claimed that they were ruining the character and Casiello went on to discuss this reaction.
Some fans felt that characters were being “watered down” and cited previous statements from Casiello about characters offending some people as a reason why the character should stay the same. Casiello blasted this opinion with some solid points that detail why the reasoning was inaccurate and possibly harmful.
The writer claimed that there were “a dozen other” insults that could be used that weren’t “slurs” before noting that political media outlets partly being at fault for encouraging consumers to pick a side. The series of tweets ended simply by suggesting that disappointment from those who wanted to keep the slur was misplaced. Given that Apex Legends has frequent updates to please players, a slur being replaced by an insult does not seem to be too significant and many will be happy that the change allows players to enjoy without feeling bad.
Few would argue that gaming should be inclusive and this move by Apex Legends seems to be a good way to keep the majority of fans happy. With new features coming to Apex Legends frequently, it makes sense that the game uses updates to get rid of offensive terms and many will hope that the game will continue to be inclusive and enjoyable.
Apex Legends is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. A Switch version is currently in development.
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