10 Biggest Gaming Controversies Of 2017 (So Far)

5. Horizon Zero Dawn Is Criticised For Cultural Appropriation

Horizon Aloy
Sony

An otherwise universally revered title, this year's Horizon Zero Dawn came under fire from a Native American writer for the game's cultural appropriation and insensitive use of language that that has degrading and negative connotations.

In an essay for Medium, the writer called out not only Horizon's cultural appropriation of Native American culture but the prevalence of it more generally in the industry, damning the medium as a whole for perpetuating archaic and damaging cultural representations.

The developers responded by explaining that they never intended to cause any offence, and actually based the tribal culture of Horizon on multiple different groups from throughout history. The explanation didn't go down too well though, and they were again criticised for not taking ownership of the situation.

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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.