Ubisoft's "Star Wars Outlaws" Faces Big Time Censorship Accusations on Subreddit to 'Protect the image of the Game'
Ubisoft's latest release of Star Wars Outlaws has been caught in a whirlwind of controversy lately as reports have surfaced from ThatParkPlace about how the game's dedicated subreddit is engaging in heavy-handed moderation. According to a detailed report by John Trent of ThatParkPlace, the Star Wars Outlaws subreddit has been banning users and deleting posts critical of the game's early access phase. This raises some serious concerns about censorship and the stifling of legitimate user feedback.
Reddit user Uglycoyote_ reached out to ThatParkPlace after experiencing firsthand the stringent moderation on the subreddit. He reported that his criticisms concerning the game's graphics, performance, and other aspects had led to his ban. Uglycoyote_ also noted that any attempt to discuss these deletions or question the moderators' actions further resulted in additional sanctions, including a seven-day mute!
The situation mirrors actions taken on other Ubisoft-related forums. The "Assassin’s Creed" subreddit, for example, has issued strict guidelines that effectively shut down any debate over historical accuracy in the game "Assassin’s Creed Shadows" particularly concerning the character Yasuke, depicted as a samurai. Moderators over there had made it clear that disputing historical depictions wouldn't be tolerated, framing the game explicitly as historical fiction meant for entertainment rather than educational accuracy.. Even though Ubisoft has contradicted themselves on that point already.
This type of behavior extends far beyond Ubisoft's titles, unfortunately. The PlayStation 5 subreddit also reportedly banned a user for expressing disappointment over the lack of an Asian male main character in Assassin’s Creed Shadows highlighting a broader trend of suppressing dissenting opinions within gaming communities.
...and I myself witnessed it happening just this morning (above) in regards to a thread being locked about Soulash 2 because the mods were annoyed by any 'wrong think' that they deemed 'influx of trolls'
These instances of moderation raise a lot of questions about the balance between maintaining community decorum and suppressing critical discourse. As forums and subreddits become the frontline for customer feedback and public discourse, the actions of moderators—and by extension, the companies that these games represent—scrutinize the integrity and openness of community management practices... But by who's authority? As many have already replied in my thread on this, it looks like Reddit has been lost to the woke mind virus years ago, unfortunately.
~Smash
Thanks again to ThatParkPlace for the heads up!