'Tales Of The Shire: A The Lord Of The Rings Game' Lead Producer Calls DEI Agenda Throughout The Video Game Industry A Conspiracy
Calliope Ryder, the Lead Producer on Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game, claims that the DEI agenda that has taken over numerous video game developers is a conspiracy.
Uncovered by YouTuber Vara Dark, Ryder posted back in September 2024 to X, “I promise I’ve never received a message from a higher up that said NEEDS MORE DIVERSITY so we can get GOVT FUNDING.”
She added, “it’s just that games are made by and for a wide range of people with varying experiences. there’s no scary cabal forcing devs to add women and POC to games.”
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Ryder followed that up writing, “like reading these conspiracies online about how this industry works is *wild*. There’s no evil corp working on erasing white men from games. They’re busy figuring out how to make you and every other gamer spend more money on micro transactions lol.”
Next, she wrote, “adding: i don’t think these people understand that there’s a very broad market of gamers. Representation does matter to many players, in some games much more than others. Games are designed by the community that made them but also by the market that will buy them.”
As noted by Dark, the Norwegian Film Institute and the European Union provided funds for Dustborn.
And lo and behold the Norwegian Film Institute announced it had a five-year diversity plan back in 2019 where the CEO said, “Gender balance and broader representation are of utmost importance from a democracy - and freedom of speech – perspective. This applies to the entire value chain, from who the creators of the stories are to whom the stories are about, and who sees and experiences these stories. Norwegian film industry must be able to change and renew itself as the society we all are part of is changing.”"
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Furthermore, it has recently been publicized that the United States federal government was providing numerous organizations with funding for various DEI initiatives whether that be an LGBTQ+ comic book in Peru, drag shows in Ecuador, a transgender opera in Columbia, or expanding atheism in Nepal.
One can also go back to 2017, where Blackrock CEO Larry Fink made it clear that DEI programs, policies, and initiatives needed to be forced.
He said, “Behaviors are going to have to change. And this is one thing we are asking companies. You have to force behaviors and at Blackrock we are forcing behaviors.”
Numerous video game studios have also institutionalized DEI programs and policies. For example, Ubisoft’s VP Global Diversity and Inclusion Raashi Sikka said, “For Ubisoft, putting diversity and inclusion at the heart of everything we do means providing an environment where employees can thrive, building open-minded communities where players can connect, and creating games that reflect the diversity of the world we live in.”
Activision Blizzard CEO Rob Kostich has also stated, “At Activision, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DE&I) is a critical component of our future success. Our journey toward fostering DE&I began years ago, fueled by the passion and stories shared by our employees. To fulfill our vision of becoming the most inclusive blockbuster games company, we have embedded DE&I in every aspect of our operations.”
Even Tales of the Shire publisher Private Division, which is a subsidiary of Take Two, has institutionalized these policies.
Take Two’s Diversity Statement on its website states, “Diversity is key to our success. We are committed to enhancing diversity at Take-Two and throughout our industry. Take-Two strives to provide an inclusive workplace in which everyone feels respected, heard and safe.”
So it’s quite possible she never received a direct communication, but it seems highly unlikely that it was not communicated in some form of manner given Take Two’s Diversity Statement.
Regardless, it is clearly not a conspiracy when there is so much evidence, of which the above is just a small portion, that shows that there is clearly an agenda behind pushing DEI.
What do you make of Ryder’s comments?
This could be either straight up lying to damage control, or this clown isn't aware that diversity hires like her don't need Blackrock or the Government to order them to put woke slop in the games - they will do it on their own.
That is a very ugly game with bad looking characters. Why do leftists want everything to be ugly like them?