The creator of Nintendo Switch game Deadly Premonition 2 has removed some of the game’s transphobic content after fierce backlash from fans.
The open-world mystery thriller game came under fire over its treatment of a trans character when it was released earlier this month.
The character, Lena, was repeatedly misgendered and referred to using her deadname by characters including the protagonist throughout the story.
Last week, the game’s Japanese developer Hidetaka Suehirom, also known as Swery, issued an apology and promised to remove the transphobic material.
Some of the dead naming has been removed from Deadly Premonition 2, but problems persist.
Swery confirmed on Twitter yesterday (21 July) that the game had been updated in a statement translated into English through Google Translate.
In his statement, the developer said they had released the first patch of the game.
“The scenario where the problem occurred has been fixed. I didn’t change the important point of the story of this work, and I was able to make changes only where I wanted to make corrections.
“Therefore, I am confident that fans who were worried that ‘this fix may change the essence of the game’ will be reassured.”
He said they had also fixed bugs and flitches and promised to “gradually improve” other issues with the frame rate.
I didn’t change the important point of the story of this work, and I was able to make changes only where I wanted to make corrections.
“I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has contributed to urgent patching and to the fans who support Deadly Premonition. I love you all!”
A fan of the game confirmed on Reddit that the game had been updated.
“All the dead naming and misgendering got cleaned up from York’s end by removing or editing lines though in the latter case they’re not voiced,” they wrote.
“Kinda awkwardly handled but a future patch might smooth them out. Nice to see it addressed this quick regardless.”
A number of issues have not been addressed.
However, journalist Laura Kate Dale said in a Twitter thread that she did not believe all the transphobic content could have been removed in just six days.
So, as well as slightly improving framerate, letting you opt in to conversations on the skateboard etc, the new Deadly Premonition 2 patch apparently fixes the transphobic content in the game. https://t.co/6W9iCQKX8V
— Laura Kate Dale (@LaurakBuzz) July 21, 2020
“Six days does NOT seem long enough to get consultants to consult, rewrite all impacted scenes, AND MOST OF ALL get all voice actors back to rerecord their lines,” she said.
Dale later confirmed that the cis male voice actor who played the trans woman has not been recast or rerecorded.
Furthermore, a comment about the trans woman not being a “normal woman” is still in the game.
Dale said the scene where York deadnames Lena had been “awkwardly” cut out – but Lena goes on to mention her own deadname a moment later, “now totally unprompted.”
“Yeah, so the game still features examples of Lena being referred to by the wrong gender inconsistently. Sometimes when referencing times we know she was out as trans,” Dale added.