Like an increasing number of RPGs, Starfield lets you choose your character pronouns separately from their body type and any other aspect of their physical appearance. It also lets you choose they/them pronouns, letting you play as a non-binary character as you fly around the galaxy. Predictably, some people had a big ‘ol cry about this, unable to handle a single text box asking you how you’d like your character to be referred to throughout the game.
Now, it’s just become harder for these weirdos to ignore the pronoun options, as the largest modding site bans any creations that remove them from the character creator. Nexus Mods says it has taken down one such Starfield mod already and will continue to do so in the spirit of “diversity and inclusion.” It adds that a mod that removes pronoun options “does not promote a positive modding community,” and therefore, is “not sad” to see its creator leave the platform.
Nexus Mods confirmed it had removed the Starfield pronouns mod to 404 Media. It admits that some users had responded to the decision with “hatred, vitriol and threats of violence”, but that this only reinforced its belief that taking down the mod was the “best course of action”.
“Hosting this mod was not for us and it is certainly within our rights not to host content on our platform,” says Nexus Mods. “We stand for diversity and inclusion in our community and the removal of diversity, while appealing to many, does not promote a positive modding community […] Frankly, we are not sad to see them go.”
It’s not surprising that at least one Nexus user tried to remove pronoun options from Starfield, given the big tantrum chuds threw over them when the game first launched. As we covered at the time, one streamer even went on a lengthy rant against, and I quote, “FUCKING PRONOUNS”, and how Bethesda was trying to “current-day us.” All because of a quick pop-up that asked for the character’s pronouns, something that’s literally just an expansion on the old “male or female” options we used to get. God forbid role-playing games make it easier to role-play. That’s not even getting into the fact that, presumably, everyone complaining about this also has pronouns, and the game isn’t able to work these out via telepathy.
Cry all they like, this is hardly an unsurprising move on Nexus’s part. It had already set a precedent by deleting a mod that removed pride flags from Marvel’s Spider-Man. It’s quite clear that the site won’t support these mods, so anyone looking to share this material will have to go elsewhere.
