There was a lot of controversy regarding the inclusion of female character creation in Battlefield V, so much so that there were fans who swore to leave the franchise and developers from completely games spoke up. Many were outraged by the historical inaccuracy and expressed it outright, but EA DICE was undeterred. Not only is Battlefield V not meant to be a retelling of history in video game format, but they wanted to get creative and that included extensive character customization. That included Battlefield 1.

One EA Dice’s regrets with Battlefield 1 was their initial exclusion of female character creation, even though it was added later with the addition of “In The Name Of Tsar” DLC. Sitting down with GamesRadar, Aleksander Grondal explained why.

I think it’s a shame we didn’t [add women], because that perhaps would’ve been better for us. I don’t think it’s a bandwagon thing, I think it’s about gamers wanting to express themselves in different ways. If you take a look at Battlefield historically, it’s been about expressing yourself through gameplay, solving problems the way you want to, and these characters fall perfectly in line with that thinking.”

With that said, it doesn’t mean the repercussions of the inclusion of female characters were an untouched topic of conversation at the office. Making an entire group of people upset enough to discuss it at length was important in terms of marketing strategy and one DICE needed to dwell on at base. However, that doesn’t mean they agree with the loud voices. The developers want to stay true to their roots despite the uproar.

Of course, any time that someone is upset about some choices that you make in the game, it’s not great. It’s not what you want to do, you want to create a game that’s the best game for all our players. That being said, we decided to make a game that involved personalizing a character, creating your own company of soldiers. And we thought it was right that you could be able to be whomever you wanted to be in that context. We stand by that. I still think it’s the right thing to do, and I still think it’s the right thing for us as a franchise. It takes a good bit of balancing.”

There you have it – the developers of Battlefield V stand by their decision. Simply put, if you don’t like it then don’t play it. There are others out there willing to enjoy the game as it is. In the end, it’s a video game and people want to have fun or get competitive. No part of ethnicity, nationality, or gender influences a competitive streak or the skill to destroy the enemy team.

What do you think about Grondal’s regrets on excluding female character customizations at the launch of the game? Do you believe they’ll continue to implement this ambition in future Battlefield games, or is it better to create this franchise with historical accuracy? Let us know what you think in the comments section below or start a conversation on DFTG Facebook page. To stay up to date on gaming news as it happens, follow us on Twitter! Here’s some of our latest:

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Battlefield V arrives October 19th, 2018 for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. Battlefield 1 is available now for all said platforms.