Electronic Arts (EA) unveiled a Battlefield V trailer that included some women soldiers, and a cover for the game that features a woman soldier. It wasn’t long before some disgruntled men took to Twitter to complain that women shouldn’t be in Battlefield V. EA Chief Creative Officer Patrick Soderlund has responded to the backlash.
Gamasutra interviewed Patrick Soderlund, who said that the inclusion of women in Battlefield V was “something that the development team pushed.”
“Battlefield V is a lot about the unseen, the untold, the unplayed,” he continued. “The common perception is that there were no women in World War II. There were a ton of women who both fought in World War II and partook in the war.”
Those who expressed complaints about the inclusion of women in Battlefield V claimed that EA was sacrificing historical accuracy and realism. That claim is easily debunked with a quick Google search.
The USO website has plenty of information about the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserves (USMCWR), the Coast Guard’s SPARs, and the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). According to the USO, 20,000 women served in the Marine Corp during WWII.
The Gamasuta interview also included this quote from Patrick Soderlund: “There are people who are uneducated – they don’t understand that this is a plausible scenario, and listen, this is a game. And today, gaming is gender-diverse, like it hasn’t been before. There are a lot of female people who want to play, and male players who want to play as a badass [woman].”
In addition, Patrick Soderlund said: “And we don’t take any flak. We stand up for the cause, because I think those people who don’t understand it, well, you have two choices: either accept it or don’t buy the game. I’m fine with either or. It’s just not ok.”
Battlefield V will be available on October 19, 2018. It will be released on PS4, Xbox One and PC.