Warner Bros. Interactive has landed itself in hot water this week due to an in-game Injustice 2 event intended to celebrate Pride Month.
For those not aware, Pride Month is observed annually around the world by the LGBTQIA+ community as well as anyone else wishing to do so and often sees various organizations attempt to increase exposure with limited-time festivities. Warner Bros. had opted to do exactly that with the mobile version of NetherRealm’s (which is not directly involved in the spinoff’s development) fighting game, but has seemingly completely missed the mark with its efforts.
The controversy, it seems, stems from a challenge that requires players to fight against Batman villain/antihero Poison Ivy, who has been presented as bisexual in more recent comic book story arcs. The character is known to have been in a non-monogamous romantic relationship with Harley Quinn (herself described as bisexual) at one point in time, for example.
The inference, then, is that having Ivy as the sole opponent for Injustice 2‘s Pride event has indirectly promoted violence against LGBTQIA+ individuals, despite the fact that she’s been a mainstay of the series’ roster since the second installment launched back in 2017. A statement recognizing these concerns (see the gallery below) has been issued on social media apologizing for any offense caused and committing to “doing better” in the future.
Posts on Twitter by the developer recording the number of times Ivy has been defeated (175,000 per the last update) have since been removed from public view, though it remains to be seen if any further action will be taken. As always, though, let us know what you make of these circumstances in the usual place below.
