Game and Season 10 OP-ED: "Inclusion" is Pointless

This is a Op-Ed based on my 600+ hours of gameplay on PC and over 300+ hours on Xbox One. This is also my first forum post and I am using this platform as a way to review Apex Legends during its Season 10 phase.

Apex Legends added a whole new dimension to the battle royale genre back in early 2019. Its unique FPS, Titanfall roots brought about a fun and skill-based battle royale experience. Not only do you have to master your weapon accuracy and reaction time, but you also have to be just as precise with your abilities. It truly is a game that requires risk-takers and thoughtful strategists that can work together to achieve effective synergy. Apex Legends is challenging, exciting, and relatively well-balanced. The characters are packed with personality and the maps are designed to encourage new ways to pace our gameplay. However, the game has taken a strange turn since the summer of 2020. 

As we all know, video games naturally bring people together. We build communities surrounding the story, experience, or competitiveness of a game. Video game developers want to include as many people as possible to increase their player base and, in effect, increase their revenue. However, what has been in development for the past six to seven months for Apex Legends has been encouraging the opposite effect. Politics has begun to poison the video game industry, and Apex Legends is no exception. 

People have started to redefine "inclusion" as having a big badge that says "Look at me! I'm included!". The introduction of BLM, Stop Asian Hate, and LGBTQ+ badges have been added to the game since the start of 2021. At face value, it seems relatively harmless to have badges to make people feel better about themselves. However, no one seems to be considering the fact that having such badges is rather redundant. If you are a gamer, we can all bond together as gamers. Apex Legends brings people of all different backgrounds together to enjoy a good BR game. So...why do we need to divide ourselves into groups based on what we identify with outside the game? Why does it matter at all? Having badges and events that involve politics will naturally divide people in the gaming community. This drive to be "inclusive" can have the opposite effect of what it is intended to do, and honestly...

I didn't start playing the game to feel included; I started playing because I wanted to become the best player I could be and make friends along the way.

Season 10 has also continued with the narrative of "change" which seems to fit rather well with the current political climate in America, especially with the progressive narrative. But perhaps my thoughts on this particular topic are not entirely accurate, I'll have to wait and see.

In regards to the content of Season 10, I am rather disappointed. The weapon skins look like modern-day art galleries: unoriginal, ugly, and pointless (that can be said for some prior seasons too). The new legend, Seer, did not appear to gain as much traction as Valkyrie did last season. His abilities are very similar to Crypto and Bloodhound, and I would choose the latter two before picking Seer in most scenarios. I personally find him to be a "middle of the road" character that doesn't really add much dimension to the game. However, I am open to being proven wrong as Seer finds his footing in the Apex Games.

At the end of the day, I have come very close to quitting Apex Legends altogether. The game's involvement with politics is becoming tiresome and pointless. It has drained the fun out of Apex for me. I will probably pop in from time to time to play a few matches, but I don't think ill be grinding for diamond anytime soon. 

I do not want Apex Legends to succumb to the following phrase, but I think it could: If you go woke, you might go broke.