Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 writer Deep Silver has rolled out a brand new code of conduct for discussions within the recreation’s Steam boards, forbidding discrimination, hate speech, and dangerous ideologies, and warning of doable everlasting bans for individuals who break the foundations.
“We are grateful for the colourful and passionate discussions that happen right here,” developer PLAION_MY4NH wrote. “Your love for this recreation and its immersive world has solid a novel and thriving group. To make sure that our boards stay a welcoming place for all, we’re introducing a brand new set of group guidelines designed to take care of clean moderation and foster significant, respectful discussions.”
“Occasional swearing” is ok, they added—Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is an M-rated recreation, in any case—however customers are urged to “hold it cheap.” Other broad factors of acceptable habits embrace the types of issues usually seen in discussion board guidelines: Stay on matter, respect others, no “fashionable political or non secular discussions,” and simply typically do not be a jerk.
The hassle with the “do not be a jerk” strategy, as anybody who’s ever moderated or used a web based discussion board can let you know, is that it sounds cheap however simply would not work. So extra particular guidelines have been laid down, and it is a fairly complete checklist of dangerous behaviors:
Zero Tolerance for Discrimination
Discrimination in any kind is strictly forbidden. This consists of:
- 1.1 Racism: Prejudice or hostility based mostly on race or ethnicity.
- 1.2 Sexism: Discrimination or hostility based mostly on gender or intercourse.
- 1.3 Homophobia and Transphobia: Hatred or prejudice directed at LGBTQ+ people.
- 1.4 Ableism: Mocking or belittling people with disabilities.
- 1.5 Ageism: Discrimination or prejudice based mostly on somebody’s age.
- 1.6 Religious Discrimination: Targeting people for his or her religion or lack thereof, together with however not restricted to Islamophobia or Antisemitism.
- 1.7 Classism: Judging others based mostly on their social or financial standing.
- 1.8 Colourism: Bias or prejudice based mostly on pores and skin tone.
- 1.9 Body Shaming (Sizeism): Mocking somebody’s physique form or measurement.
No Hate Speech or Harmful Ideologies
We stand towards all types of hate speech and harmful ideologies. This consists of:
- 2.1 White Supremacy: Advocacy of racial superiority or supremacy theories.
- 2.2 Neo-Nazism: Promotion or help of Nazi-related symbols, beliefs, or ideologies.
- 2.3 Encouragement of Violence: Posts that glorify, incite, or encourage hurt towards people or teams.
- 2.4 Harassment: Repeated or focused assaults, threats, or intimidation.
- 2.5 Glorification of Harmful Behaviour: Including however not restricted to self-harm, suicide, or abuse.
“Any posts, feedback, or behaviour perpetuating these dangerous ideologies can be eliminated, and offenders will face swift motion,” PLAION_MY4NH wrote. Consequences for violating the code of conduct will vary from warnings and publish deletion to momentary or everlasting bans from the discussion board.
The authentic Kingdom Come: Deliverance confronted some criticism for being a really white recreation, one thing developer Warhorse Studios defended as reflecting the sport’s historic foundation; inventive director Daniel Vavra was equally criticized for making quite a few pro-Gamergate statements. That led to the sport being held up by extra reactionary parts of gaming fandom as not “woke,” which resulted in some rumbling in 2024 when Warhorse mentioned gamers “can anticipate a variety of ethnicities and totally different characters” within the sequel. In latest days, there’s been a extra virulent backlash towards claims that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 consists of an “unskippable” same-sex love scene, outstanding Black characters, and “lectures” about feminism.
Unfortunately, the social media panorama is much more poisonous now than it was when the unique Kingdom Come: Deliverance arrived, and with the sequel on the verge of launch it appears like Deep Silver is making an attempt to go off the worst of the dangerous habits earlier than it occurs. Predictably, that effort has sparked a backlash of its personal:
The unhappy half is that amidst all this, early impressions of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 are very promising: PC Gamer’s Fraser Brown mentioned in his preview that it is “bigger, assured and intensely tactile,” aking to a “unusual combination of historic drama and The Hangover,” whereas Joshua Wolens mentioned his time with it was “great enjoyable, with all kinds of weird variables feeding into the emergent adventures I get into,” paying homage to “among the finest elements of Stalker.” That feels like a recreation I wish to play. It’s set to launch on February 4.
