Some “players” took a dislike to Dragon Age The Veilguard, they created a fake document in the vein of Black Myth Wukong to ridicule the game and the content creators

Return to a controversy

This year 2024 saw the advent of some very big games including a certain Black Myth: Wukong this summer. The Chinese action game has established itself as a huge phenomenon with already more than 20 million sales worldwide: however, the publisher of the title Hero Games also found itself in turmoil with a document which was allegedly sent to certain content creators, stipulating that they were prohibited from inciting “negative discourse”.

On the list of things not to do, it was thus written not to “insult other influencers or players”, “to use offensive language/humor”, “to include politics, violence, nudity, feminist propaganda, fetishization”, “using the words 'quarantine', 'isolation' or 'COVID-19'” or even “discussing content related to policies, opinions, news, etc. of the Chinese gaming industry. “ Guidelines which, once made public, caused a lot of ink to flow… and not necessarily for the better, especially since the Game Science studio found itself earlier in a controversy after a case of misogyny.

A fake bad buzz around Dragon Age The Veilguard

Freshly released commercially, Dragon Age: The Veilguard completes a wait that lasted many years for a large community of players, eager to discover this new adventure designed by BioWare. But on X, a document began to circulate: it would have been sent to the press and influencers by Electronic Arts and would require a whole bunch of strange directives from them.

For example, it would be required not to cite “male and female transgender characters, surgical scars, 'woke' content, homoeroticism, racial positivity”, not to compare the game to God of War or even to use the word “feminism”. It turns out in truth that this document is a fake: it is purely and simply a fake aimed at ridiculing the game and the studio, while making fun of Black Myth Wukong. Moreover, you can even see the cursor at the start of the page.

The problem is that this fake was also taken very seriously by many Internet users, bringing with it a bad buzz around the game which therefore has absolutely no reason to exist. Many media outlets, journalists and content creators therefore had to speak out to refute the comments in question.

For his part, journalist Paul Tassi, working for Forbes, preferred to laugh about it by publishing a new version full of black humor:

Dragon Age The Veilguard Test Contract
The undersigned Media or Reviewer _______________ agrees to the following terms to receive a review code for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. This document should not be shared or tweeted. Violating this agreement may result in denial of future codes or a prison sentence of up to five years.

We know this game is awesome and should be criticized as such. In line with this statement, your review should include the phrases: “BioWare is back!” » “This Dragon has aged well! » and “Who is Baldur?” » These exact wordings must be used.

As part of our Partner Creators program, you are eligible for the following rewards:

• 10/10 rating: $800 and a Dragon Age office chair
• Rating 9/10: $300 and a Garrus Vakarian mousepad
• Rating 8/10: $50 and an Anthem keychain
• Rating from 1 to 7/10: $200 fine and industry blacklist

Do’s and don’ts:

• Not mentioning Baldur's Gate 3
• Don't make comparisons to older Dragon Age games (except positive ones)
• Not mentioning similarities to Mass Effect (except positive)
• Don't wait for the SkillUp review to be published to form your opinion
• Not mentioning Baldur's Gate 3

We know that Dragon Age: The Veilguard touches on many “sensitive” topics. To maintain an atmosphere of safety and trust, please do not use the words or expressions: “BioWoke”, “WokeWare”, “Electronic Woke”, “Woketronic Arts”, “Dragon Woke”, “Woke Age”, “Dragon Age: The Wokeguard.

YouTube review thumbnails should only show “excited” or “happy” expressions from creators. Expressions showing “crying”, “confusion” or “disappointment” are prohibited. Green arrows are encouraged. Red crosses are prohibited.

I, the undersigned, understand these terms and agree under penalty of death.
Signature ______________________
Date ___________________________

We look forward to working with you!

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