Respawn Entertainment confirmed it will begin exporting its disordered sexual behavior propaganda that it promotes in Apex Legends to Saudi Arabia.
A screenshot from Apex Legends (2020), Respawn
Earlier this month, the Esports World Cup announced that Apex Legends would be one of the games featured in its tournament that takes place in Riyadh this summer.
The tournament posted on X, “Apex Legends enters the arena! Only the best will compete for fame, fortune, and glory at the Esports World Cup this summer!”
#ApexLegends enters the arena!
Only the best will compete for fame, fortune, and glory at the #EsportsWorldCup this summer! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XUDvU8K5kR
— Esports World Cup (@ESWCgg) April 12, 2024
Following the announcement, a number of individuals suspected that Saudi Arabia would ban the disordered sexual behavior propaganda that Respawn Entertainment pushes through Apex Legends.
One wrote, “Legends that are illigal in Saudi Arabia – Bloodhound – Catalyst – Gibraltar – Loba – Fuse – Valk (Prob more)”
DANNYonPC on X
Another posted, “Since your org is Saudi Arabian are your players allowed to play: -Gibraltar -Bloodhound -Loba -Fuse -Valkyrie -Seer -Catalyst -Bangalore”
RocketBullets on X
Still another wrote, “wouldnt a lot of the in game characters be banned from attending due to where it’s located”
Legendary_rogue on X
As noted by these users, many of these characters have been intentionally created by Respawn to push LGBTQ+ propaganda. In the description for Bloodhound, Respawn uses “they/them” pronouns while discussing the character.
A screenshot of Bloodhound’s biography from Apex Legends
Another example is Valkyrie.
Her biography states, “During the day, she smuggled precious cargo, and at night, went shot for shot with the outlaws and mercs in the bars. But even though she had her ladies, her liquor, and her love of the sky, she was still obsessed with finding the man who’d put her father in harm’s way: his commander, Kuben Blisk.”
A screenshot of Valkyrie’s biography from Apex Legends
While these users believed these characters would be banned from the tournament, Respawn shared a statement with Kotaku indicating that the developer would have all of its characters available to play and they would not be restricting any of them.
The statement reads, “We are not changing the game — all Legends will be playable. No Apex Legends content, Legend or Cosmetic, will be restricted at the EWC event.”
A screenshot from Apex Legends Season 08 (2024), Respawn Entertainment
What do you make of Saudia Arabia allowing this disordered behavior to be promoted in its country via Apex Legends?
I think the Saudis will have something to say about that.