Video gamers are probably well-aware that the “bad guys” portrayed in video games these days tend to originate from the Middle East, a stereotype which seems to be commonplace in the video game industry. However it look like Victory Games has decided to put an end to that stereotype in future Command & Conquer games, especially since one of the playable classes in its RTS game, the Global Liberation Army, consisted of Middle Eastern-like characters.
The developer has since announced that in an effort to avoid offending gamers, they will be diversifying their approach when it was pointed out to them that it was offensive. According to developer Tim Morten (via Polygon), “This is actually a pretty big change for the game. Anyone who knows this series will know the Global Liberation Army. But at the studio we had a bad reaction from people saying it was pretty offensive to have Middle-Eastern characters as militants […] Now we’ll probably just offend everybody.” Morten went on to add that the GLA will now consist of soldiers of at least five different races. Gamers what do you guys think? Were many of you offended by the stereotype to begin with?
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