Lords of the Fallen publisher embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include 'any social or political agendas' in its games

Gaming IndustryLords of the FallenLords of the Fallen publisher embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its gamesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: CI Games)

Lords of the Fallen (2023) promotional image - very large man with a very large hammer on a very large horse charging a very small man with a very small magic sword

Lords of the Fallenpublisher CI Games says it will not integrate “any social or political agendas” into its games because doing so, it claims, incurs a “high risk” of commercial failure.

The statement was made during a recent investors chat (viaStrefa Inwestorów), during which CI Games was asked about its “stance on DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] in gaming.” In response, global marketing director Ryan Hill said the company prioritizes “excellent user experience with compelling thematics and characters created specifically for core and adjacent audiences,” and then rolled into what I would call a pretty ill-informed take on the current state of the game industry.

“While some videogames have recently taken the opportunity to embed social or political agendas within their experiences, it is clear that many players do not appreciate this, and as a result, we have seen a number of high profile releases underperforming commercially during the last year alone,” Hill said. “Our games will always be developed to maximise player enjoyment and commercial success, and as such, we will not be integrating any social or political agencies into these experiences going forward having observed the high risk this can present.”

Hill didn’t explain how exactly he or CI Games defines DEI, which has become shorthand slang for “things I don’t like” among some parts of videogame fandom, nor did he offer any examples of games that failed due to their “social or political agendas.” Concord and Dustborn are commonly held up as examples of such, but the reality is that they’re just two of literally thousands of games—19,000 new games on Steamalone in 2024—that failed to find an audience over the past year. And in the case of Concord in particular, it arguably just wasn’t a great game—we gave it a 45% inour review, and not because we didn’t think the cast was white enough

CI Games declined to comment on Hill’s statement. However, shortly after this story was published, CEO Marek Tymiński posted a message onXconfirming the studio will not integrate “DEI elements”—which he also left undefined–into its games.

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