Starfield Pronoun Removal Mod Sparks Controversy After Ban By Nexus Mods

Starfield has made headlines for various reasons across the gaming industry. Not only is it Bethesda’s biggest launch, with over 6 million players in less than ten days, but the game has also become Microsoft’s most successful current-generation release.

However, a select group of Bethesda fans recently took to social media, expressing outrage over the studio’s inclusion of pronouns in the game. Players can pick between options like ‘he/him, she/her, and they/them,’ but some have not been fond of this decision.

This sparked a mod that removed these pronouns from the game, but Nexus Mods has banned the pronoun removal mod in Starfield.

Why it matters: Modding is all about freedom, and many felt that Nexus Mods’ decision to remove this particular mod went against this notion. However, Nexus Mods believes such mods do not belong on the platform.

As much as I like Starfield, this guy is absolutely right. I for one am sick and tired of being talked down to by Big Corp. and being told I have to adapt to some demented ideology that is outside the realm of reason and logic. #Starfield #Pronouns pic.twitter.com/g37TpmzQDv

— ⚔Shane Anth☯️ny the 🌼Daisy🌼 Protector Paladin🛡️ (@Blue_Bear_1990) September 11, 2023

Starfield, like many modern RPGs, offers the ability to select character pronouns independently from physical attributes.

Additionally, it provides the option to choose they/them pronouns, allowing players to experience the game as a non-binary character while traversing the massive galaxy of over 1,000 planets.

This inclusion led to a clash between people with different opinions on the subjects of gender and pronouns, leading to mods that would remove the option entirely for some players.

However, Nexus Mods was quick to ban the mod and claimed:

“Hosting this mod was not for us, and it is within our rights not to host content on our platform.”

Moreover, Nexus Mods asserted that the removal was not a political statement, as it was not aligned with a particular side of the culture war.

The platform hopes to achieve diversity and inclusion within its community and does not mind losing a few people in its quest for a healthy community. Following the ban, Nexus Mods has received death threats and hateful comments from some people.

Apart from this controversial mod, Starfield’s modders have already added quite a few quality-of-life updates to the game.

While Bethesda is working on official DLSS support for the game, modders have been one step ahead, adding the popular upscaler to Starfield at release. Other requested inclusions, like a FOV slider, have also been modded into the RPG.