That Time 'Mass Effect' Was Massively Effected By Fox News

Hey, remember the Mass Effect series, BioWare's galaxy sprawling epic that began as a tribute to bigger sci-fi properties, then went on to become the main inspiration for most post-2010's sci-fi, then died like this?

Let's forget about that one, and focus on when it was good.

One of the reasons the Mass Effect series became very popular among players was that it created a universe where most aliens are conveniently bangable by humans, but it's also left a mark in the hearts of the LGBTQ+ community because of how it allowed for players to explore a wider array of relationships than most games did. It was one of the first games to do that, certainly the first AAA one, so it really does deserve a lot of praise for that fact. Still, it's important and pretty surprising to note that BioWare wanted to be even more inclusive but got cold feet because of goddamn Fox News.

Weirdly, Fox News didn't send the devs at BioWare a bunch of religious fanatics carrying an ultimatum. They just aired a video criticizing Mass Effect for its pretty regular too hardcore portrayal of sexual relations. This video snowballed outrage among viewers who probably pressured BioWare, and, when making the sequel to the first game, the most beloved (and second most sexy) entry in the franchise, the devs censored the originally intended sexual orientation of a character. 

Jack, the character in question, still talks as if her orientation is not confined to the gender binary but will only romance the male version of Commander Shepard. Interestingly, the devs decided to leave Jack's original lines in, which led to seemingly awkward conversations that were actually the devs' way of trying to say that there should have been more to this character.

Let's hope Fox News was okay with pre-space-marital orgies.

Top Image: BioWare