10 Biggest Gaming Controversies Of 2017 (So Far)

6. Call Of Duty: WWII's Lack Of Diversity (And Nazi Censorship)

Call of duty WW2
Activision

Although it's successfully avoided controversy for a few years now (we've come a long way from the media frenzy surrounding the "No Russian" scene in Modern Warfare 2), the reveal of the upcoming Call of Duty: WWII once again landed the popular series in hot water earlier this year.

In one camp we had those who were outraged that the developers had talked about the inclusion of minority and women characters as if they were back-of-the-box features, reduced to a checklist of things to include in a game out of obligation rather than with a desire to accurately represent their lives and issues in the narrative.

In the other camp however there were people screaming "censorship!" because images of swastikas had been removed from the game's multiplayer modes and the developers revealed that you could play as non-white Nazis.

Both controversies launched Call of Duty back into the public discussion for all the wrong reasons - but hey, at least they got people talking about the ageing series once again.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked full time as a content producer at WhatCulture for nine years. In that time he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple channels, specialising in subjects such as gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 most listened to gaming podcast in the UK that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, covered breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.