Warhorse Studios and Deep Silver implement stricter forum guidelines to prevent potential debates over their upcoming open-world RPG. Drawing lessons from past controversies, they aim to curb toxic behavior with clearer conduct policies.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is shaping up to be one of the year’s most anticipated releases, bringing a new chapter to Warhorse Studios’ open-world RPG saga. However, the prequel’s 2018 launch was marked by challenges, including heated debates over representation and outspoken commentary from director Daniel Vávra. This time, publisher Deep Silver and the development team are rolling out stricter forum policies to avoid a repeat of those issues.

“We appreciate the passionate discussions taking place here,” stated one forum moderator. “To ensure our spaces remain welcoming to all, we’ve introduced a new code of conduct to foster respectful and meaningful conversations.” While moderate use of profanity will be tolerated, maintaining a reasonable tone is emphasized. Their goal is to prevent forums, including those on Steam, from descending into hostile battlegrounds.

The updated conduct rules, set to take effect on February 4 with the game’s launch, explicitly ban behaviors such as racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, and hate speech. Extreme ideologies like neo-Nazism and white supremacy are also prohibited. “Posts promoting harmful ideologies will be removed, and violators will face immediate action,” the company confirmed.

However, as PC Gamer reports, the announcement has already sparked backlash on Steam forums, with some users criticizing the perceived limits on free speech. This latest controversy adds to ongoing scrutiny of the franchise, which has previously faced accusations of cultural insensitivity and conflicts with diverse communities over its historical depictions.

Source: Steam