Goddess of Victory: Nikke
Developer(s)	Shift Up
Publisher(s)	Level Infinite
Director(s)	Yoo Hyung-seok
Producer(s)	Hyung-tae Kim
Artist(s)	Hyung-tae Kim KKUEM[1]
Composer(s)	Zekk[2]
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	Android, iOS, Windows
Release	Android, iOS November 4, 2022 Microsoft Windows February 15, 2023
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter, role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Goddess of Victory: Nikke^[a] is a South Korean third-person shooter action role-playing video game developed by Shift Up, published by Level Infinite. Development of Nikke began as early as 2017, and it was released for Android and iOS in 2022, and Windows in 2023. The game's action-based battle system revolves around quick character-switching and the usage of combat skills in an anime-style environment. The game is free-to-play and features a gacha game system, through which in-app purchases are used as a method for monetization. It garnered over US$70 million in its first month of release.

Goddess of Victory: Nikke set in a post-apocalyptic future where the surface of the Earth was overthrown by mechanical aliens, called Raptures. The surviving humans fled underground and produced artificial soldiers called Nikkes. The story follows a Commander and his squad of Nikkes who hope to reclaim the surface.

Gameplay

Goddess of Victory: Nikke is a role-playing video game (RPG) in which the player controls one of up to five interchangeable characters (Nikkes) who are distributed in a row facing a battlefield and positioned behind a defensive object.^[3] A third-person shooter, the player aims a reticle to shoot at enemies and takes cover to reload^[4]—which automatically happens when a character is out of ammunition—allowing them to strategically plan their attacks.^[5] Each Nikke wields her own firearm and possess one of five possible elements that determine strengths and weaknesses when attacking foes.^[6] Characters each have three unique combat skills: two normal skills and one Burst skill, the latter is each assigned with a numeric value of up to three and requires users to accumulate enough cost, amassable through damaging enemies, before activating the initial Burst—subsequent skills can be activated immediately—and a temporary Full Burst mode is entered upon triggering the final skill, which significantly increases the attack power of all allies.^[7]

A stage ends once the player defeats a powerful boss following several swarms of basic enemies.^[8] Moreover, a special battle mode called the Interception requires the player to destroy a runaway locomotive throughout the stage.^[9] The game features a cooperative multiplayer mode of up to five players who can challenge the environment.^[10]

New characters are obtainable via a gacha game system, which costs in-game currency—acquirable by playing the game or via microtransactions—to use.^[4] A pity system guarantees the player a rare character after a set number of draws.^[11] The player can raise characters' strengths by enhancing their levels and skills, increase their level caps, and equip better armor; the resources for all of those are obtainable by completing various quests.^[6]

Story

Characters

Main characters

The Commander (Protagonist/The Player)

He is the Rookie Commander newly graduated from the Military Academy in charge of the Counters Squad and the Outpost, a Shangri-La of sorts for Nikkes. Through various feats such as defeating a Heretic, finishing impossible missions with 0% chance of survival, and keeping the peace in the Ark, the Commander is a rising star that is compared to “New Hope”. Able to command a plethora of squads, he is a force to be reckoned with, bringing the best out of the Nikkes he commands. Despite his position and his feats, the Commander is still humble and kind, treating Nikkes as human, even if Nikkes from the Heretics and Exotic treated him harshly and tried to kill him.

Counters:

A ragtag commando squad led by a rookie Commander who just graduated from the Military Academy. Stationed at the Outpost, they take on all manner of assignments.

Rapi

Voiced by: Yui Ishikawa (Japanese); Kayli Mills (English); Kim Bo-na (Korean)

Rapi is a Nikke manufactured by Elysion and the leader of the commando squad, Counters. A troubled yet reliable girl who seeks to answer the question of just what Nikkes really are. As a member of Counters, she always ensures harmonious relations between various squad mates. A veteran with many years of combat experience on the battlefield, she can understand the situation and carry out operations and stands out among other Nikkes in Elysion. It’s easy to be misunderstood by people as being cold in the first place by sticking an extremely clerical and rigid attitude to them, but it also shows an infinitely softened look to the person who opens her heart.

Anis/Anis "Sparkling Summer"

Voiced by: Miho Okasaki (Japanese); Michelle Marie (English); Kim Seong-hui (Korean)

Anis is a Nikke manufactured by Tetra Line and a member of the Counters Squad. A girl who knows exactly how to survive in this forlorn world. Somewhere in between somber Rapi and off-the-wall Neon, she is fond of telling jokes to lighten the mood whenever things get too tense. Among the three, Anis is the most sarcastic and insolent, although she still shows her obedience and loyalty towards the Commander. Her impertinence knows no bounds, employing it regardless of whether the situation is trivial or dire. Anis rarely gets shaken off, but if she does, she won’t hesitate to destroy her adversaries. Despite her “aloof” attitude, she has that caring side with overbearing concern when she’s overly invested in someone.

Neon/Neon "Blue Ocean"

Voiced by: Rina Hidaka (Japanese); Xanthe Huynh (English); Jang Mi (Korean)

Neon is a Nikke manufactured by Elysion and a member of the Counters Squad. A rabid gun nut who thinks about nothing else. Neon openly preaches the strength of the almighty “Firepower”, believing that Firepower is the dream and solution to everything. She has a strong egotistical personality, but not to the point where it becomes a nuisance to others. She’s the type of Nikke who gets along with others fairly well and can take care of her own things at the same time. Her true identity as a spy for Ingrid is an open secret, and she embraces the role well.

Marian/Modernia

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese); Ryan Bartley (English)

Marian is a warmhearted, protective Nikke who has no qualms about protecting others as her own duty, forming a bond between herself and her human commander. She was presumed dead after the corruption during the first chapter of the game. She has changed to Modernia in later chapters. As Modernia, she's a plain and delicate girl who sold out mankind. A member of the Queen's elite squad, the Heretics. Her name is taken from “Modernism". She came back to the good side when she was saved and was taken back to the Ark, but was later given to the Pilgrims to protect her from the people like Burningum to dissect her or take advantage of her. Currently, she's with another group of Pilgrims called the White Knights.

Antagonists

Crow

Voiced by: Sora Amamiya (Japanese); Corey Pettit (English)

The leader of Exotic, a group of convicts turned Nikkes from the Outer Rim. There is a whiff of madness underneath her calm exterior, like a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment. Members of Exotic are outfitted with explosive collars to ensure their obedience. In contrast to her composure, Crow vehemently loathes the Ark and its people due to them forcefully turning many women into Nikkes. She was responsible for the bombing attacks on the AFX, killing most passengers including Diesel's little brother, and the ringleader of the attack on the Ark, letting the Raptures in. Despite her NIMPH, she controls her mind using her will alone. She is currently detained and is being studied in the Rehabilitation Center.

Syuen

Voiced by: Satomi Arai (Japanese); Risa Mei (English)

CEO of Missilis Industry. Syuen often abuses her powers as CEO, harassing both humans and Nikkes to do her bidding. She is willing to do everything in her power and has no qualms about endangering the Ark to bring back both Missilis and Matis' good reputations as well as gaining profit from it. To make amends for what she's done, Enikk judged that Syuen has to help the Commander until he is satisfied, or else, she'll be fired from her position as CEO and forcefully turn her into a Nikke.

Yuni

Voiced by: Sumire Morohoshi (Japanese); Alexis Tipton (English)

A sadistic member of the Wardress squad. To aid in the non-lethal subjugation of targets, Yuni can remotely toggle the senses of her target on or off, human, Nikke, or Rapture. Due to a quirk in her physiology, Yuni cannot feel anything unless she is in physical contact with another person. She has mastered some sadistic skills, such as controlling the senses, emotional torment, and immobilization. As a pure sadistic right to the heart, Yuni believes all this is just a way of expressing love. Once she falls for someone, she gives all of herself to them. As a result of Mihara's memory wipe during the failed black ops mission to apprehend Chatterbox and a series of physical abuse she suffered from Syuen, Yuni became more vengeful and soon, colluded with Crow as a means to exact her revenge, although the latter is simply using her to further their plan. During the Rapture invasion, Yuni captured Syuen in the Missilis Industry headquarters and subjected her into a series of brutal torture.

Doban

One of the deputy chiefs of the Central Government. Despite being born in the Outer Rim, Doban absolutely despises the Outer Rim, its people, and its way of life and wants nothing more but to destroy it.

Raptures:

The Raptures are quasi-mechanical alien beings that invaded Earth since over a century ago. They are responsible for mankind's retreatment to the underground city known as the "Ark". Nikkes who are corrupted and hybridized with Rapture parts are known as "Heretics". They are traitor Nikkes who fight for the Raptures and their Queen, hybridized with Rapture technology and armor to serve as her personal agents. Despite the corruption running through their veins, they are still Nikkes. According to Nihilister, the other three known Heretics include Liberalio, Indivilia, and Anachiro and all of them are transformed into the ideal figures envisioned by their minds. The squad members are named after various philosophies.

Chatterbox

Voiced by: TBA (Japanese); Adin Rudd (English)

A unique Tyrant-class Rapture who is capable of speech and rational thinking. Before the events of the game, Chatterbox approached Enikk with a deal to not attack the Ark in exchange for Nikkes to be corrupted and be used as Rapture parts or food for other Raptures. Enikk made a deal with Chatterbox, realizing that the Raptures are actually aware of the Ark's whereabouts and humanity has zero chance of fighting back. He was destroyed during the mission to apprehend Modernia and was later revived by Nihilister along with Indivilia during the Raptures' invasion of the Ark.

Nihilister

Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame (Japanese); Marissa Lenti (English)

Nihilister is a Heretic and loyal subject to the Rapture Queen who has long been a scourge to all Nikkes. As the lead general of the legions under the Queen's command, her belligerence knows no bounds, nor does her appetite for destruction. According to her, Nihilister was built to fight. Her Rapture form allows her to transform into either a reptilian-like Rapture or a twin-headed dragon-like form. During her defeat, she wanted to seek revenge on the Counters Squad for the humiliation she received from them. Her name is taken from Nihilism.

Liberalio

Voiced by: TBA (Japanese); Marissa Lenti (English)

One of the Heretics serving the Rapture Queen, Liberalio takes the form of a deep-sea creature, taking that of a jellyfish (Medusozoa). Liberalio awakens from slumber to silence Nihilister, who reveals information about Lilith and the Queen to the humans and their Nikke servants. She gives a final warning against disturbing her slumber, leaving without a fight as Counters and Inherit are reluctant to fight a Heretic without Vapaus as a trump card. She has longed for peace by killing all humans, wanting to continue her slumber for as long as she can. Her name is taken from Liberalism.

Indivilia

Indivilia is a member of the Heretics, traitor Nikkes who sold out mankind and served the Rapture Queen. Matis and Absolute Squad defeated Indivilia during a joint mission before the game's events. Attempting to recover as much injuries as she can, she became the fragment known as "Material H" and was brought back to the Ark to be studied. During the attack on the Ark, she was later revived by Nihilister along with Chatterbox. Her name is taken from Individualism.

Anachiro

Anachiro is a member of the Heretics, traitor Nikkes who sold out mankind and served the Rapture Queen. Formerly known as "Cinderella", she was one of the second-generation Grimms models, being the first of her kind. However, the Raptures corrupted her, and became a Heretic, leading the Central Government to formally address her as "Anachiro". Her name is taken from Anarchism.

Supporting characters

Setting

Goddess of Victory: Nikke takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where the Earth was suddenly attacked by extraterrestrial mechanical creatures called Raptures that destroyed everything on the surface, forcing the remaining humans to take refuge underground and establish the Ark,^[12] a metropolis ruled by the Central Government. The PMC manufacturers Elysion, Missilis Industry and Tetra Line—owned by Ingrid, Syuen and Mustang, respectively—that compose the Big Three work on converting women and children into powerful obedient soldiers called Nikkes to be used as a weapon to defeat the Raptures and restore humanity on the surface.^[13][14][15] Due to their prominence, the Big Three CEOs have very high authority; they are, however, heavily monitored by the Central Government to prevent any hostile behavior.^[16][17]

The story is played from the perspective of the Commander who graduated from the Military Academy one day prior to the events of the game;^[18] despite this, they perform extraordinarily in the operations and survive various encounters with rare Rapture species throughout the journey.^[19] They lead a squad called Counters, which consists of the Nikkes Anis, Rapi and later down the story, Neon.^[20] The Commander views Nikkes with sympathy and privately advocates for Nikke rights, which is illegal in accordance with the laws of the Ark.^[14] Outlaws may be sent to the Rehabilitation Center or the Outer Rim, an area fully isolated from the rest of the Ark, and they have formed terrorist organizations claiming to fight for human rights for themselves.^[21]

Plot

The Commander's plane was shot down, but they were saved by a Nikke named Marian, who was later executed for being corrupted by the Raptures. Counters, a new squad, and Elysion's Neon went on a mission to test their fighting skills, destroying a power plant run by intelligent Raptures. Impressed with their performance, Deputy Chief Andersen sent the group to work without government oversight. Syuen made the Commander capture Chatterbox, a high-class Rapture who could speak, but Counters was overwhelmed until Snow White from the Pilgrims saved them. Counters had to evacuate, and the secret mission became public, which upset Syuen.^[22]

All individuals except Syuen are suspended temporarily. Rapi and Mihara are supposed to have their memories wiped, but it doesn't work for Rapi. Andersen directs the squad to collect information about Chatterbox and Marian's corrupt activities. However, Chatterbox sets a trap and captures the Commander. Snow White rescues them and defeats the Raptures, but before she can stop Chatterbox, they are rescued by Modernia, a Heretic Nikke who joined the Raptures. The Commander recognizes Modernia as Marian before she escapes with Chatterbox.^[23]

The authorities have rescued the squad and now they have been promoted to Special Commandos. This promotion has given them more independence. Counters are now at an ammunition factory to investigate a bullet dropped by Modernia. The bullet contains an unregistered substance called 'Vapaus', but the team fails to find any useful information. Meanwhile, Exia is on a call with them and hacks into the Central Government's database. However, Exia gets caught and sends them an encoded message before being shot by Triangle, a police force. The squad goes to Andersen's office, where Rapi reveals that she had been affected by 'Vapaus', which rendered the memory wipe ineffective. She offers to cooperate. Andersen and Ingrid authorize a new joint operation with the latter's squad to collect Heretic fragments left over from a previous skirmish.^[24]

On their journey, they meet Matis, the top squad of Syuen. When they reach their destination, Raptures ambush Matis before they discover an underground stronghold system. After safely retrieving the fragments and requesting evacuation, Rapi realizes that Matis has been corrupted due to the ambush. They make some important discoveries, and the Central Government approves a significant operation to capture Modernia using firsthand interaction with Counters. Although they manage to get her to regain mental clarity, Chatterbox intervenes and corrupts her again. They still rescue her and use a neural wipe to cure Nikkes' corruption, which is the only known method.^[25]

Marian is a valuable Nikke and many people want to capture her. Triangle is sent to capture her on behalf of their Deputy Commander-in-Chief Burningum, but Andersen convinces him to stop. Counters can't protect her anymore, so he hands her over to the Pilgrims and lies that she was kidnapped. Syuen secretly finds a Vapaus bullet and uses it to cure Matis of their corruption.^[26]

Syuen dispatches Counters and Exotic to inquire about Vapaus from the Pilgrims on the surface. During their mission, Exotic betrays Counters and fails to carry out the task, but the Commander survives. The Pilgrims offer medical aid to the Commander and inform him about the Vapaus Institute containing significant historical records.

They've learned that the Vapaus-curing process ends the nanomachines in Nikkes, which gives them obedience and courage in battles. This leads to the public discriminating against Missilis. Nonetheless, the Commander believes that Nikkes should have the freedom to make their own decisions and prepare to visit the institute. Finally, Syuen persuades the Commander to stage a fight between Matis and the Raptures to sway public opinion towards Missilis as a last resort.^[27]

They lure large groups of Raptures near the Ark. Matis' leader Laplace, after overcoming emotional trauma and seeing her teammates suffering, kills all the Raptures, successfully regaining public support. Andersen approves to let Counters head to the institute.^[28]

The Counters restocked their supplies and planned to head towards the research institute. While clearing out some Raptures, Rapi noticed someone following them. Rapi warned the person that they would open fire unless they came out. The person, Papillion, a Nikke who worked for Deputy Commander Burningum, who had previously ordered a manhunt against the Counters, revealed that the story of "zero survivors" created by the Ark was false and that there were human survivors on the surface. Papilion asked the Counters where they were headed, and Anis and Neon answered her. They agreed to let Papilion join them on their journey.

They arrived at the research institute but found out that the Vapaus they were looking for were no longer there. The security system was down before they entered, and they were ambushed by a group of Pilgrims led by Johan. Johan taunted the protagonist, whom he recognized as being from the Ark, for being on the surface instead of underground where he should have been. The protagonist explained that they were looking for Vapaus to 'liberate the Nikkes'. Johan revealed a vial of Vapaus that was taken from the research building and asked the protagonist what was more important: the liberation of Nikkes or recapturing the surface. Regardless of the protagonist's answer, Johan attempts to kill him by throwing him outside and luring the Raptures to trap the protagonist's squad inside the building.

The protagonist woke up feeling confused after some time. He realized that Harran, one of the Pilgrims they had met before, had rescued him. When the protagonist asked why she saved him, Harran said she did it because she wanted to. Harran talked with the protagonist about Eden, and he expressed his desire to go there. However, before he could proceed, Harran made him go through several tough tests, including battling hordes of Raptures alone, to "test his resolve." After a long and hard fight, the protagonist managed to pass Harran's test, but he passed out while still standing. Impressed by the protagonist's determination, Harran gives him instructions on how to get to Eden, and he sets off in that direction.

The protagonist arrives at Eden and is greeted by Dorothy, a Pilgrim who acts as a guide. Johan and Cecil discussed their plan to defeat Nihilister, a Heretic, by using Unchained (formerly known as Vapaus). They knew about Dorothy's actions and the protagonist's arrival but decided not to interfere. After the tour, Dorothy revealed that she had heard about the protagonist from an "old friend" and knew about his ability to take down Heretics. She proposed a deal that the protagonist could have Unchained if he helped them defeat Nihilister. The protagonist reluctantly agreed and reunited with his squad, who had been rescued in the same way. With the help of Unchained, they defeated Nihilister, who retreated and vowed revenge against the squad.^[29]

The mission of the Counters and Inherit team is to capture a giant Rapture known as "Mother Whale". This Rapture is special because it carries many other Raptures. The team is repairing a large harpoon cannon to shoot Mother Whale and bring it down to the ground. They successfully hit Mother Whale and climbed on the harpoon to enter its body and attack its insides. This causes Mother Whale to fall to the ground and the team defeats it. They take the core of Mother Whale and create two Vapaus bullets by mixing it with the protagonist's blood. The protagonist gives one of the bullets to a friend named Johan before they all leave to return to the Ark.^[30]

Soon, the Commander and the Counters discover that the Raptures have invaded the Ark, a bomb had exploded on the surface to due influences from the Outer Rim, allowing Raptures to invade the Ark. Initially, the Central Government thought that the Outer Rim (and specifically, a terrorist named Elysion Harper, aka E.H.) was the one responsible for destroying the Ark's roof, prompting Doban, an arrogant and muscle-brained Commander to launch a manhunt operation against the residents of Outer Rim, only to be thwarted by the Underworld Queens, spearheaded by Moran who faced Doban and his troops all by herself, then Rosanna and Sakura joining the action later. They even mocked Doban for his motives since Doban used to be an Outer Rim citizen himself, therefore they surmised this was just him trying to erase any traces of his past to give himself a "clean" reputation.^[31]

Meanwhile, as the Counters arrived at the Ark, they immediately contacted Enikk, the Ark's overseer AI, and asked for an update regarding the Ark's situation. Enikk reveals that in spite of the attacks, due to her planning all the humans have been safely evacuated and there are minimal Nikke casualties. Dorothy unexpectedly makes an entrance to the Ark, saving it from an attack by Nihilister, though her reunion with the Counters is frosty at best. She is escorted by A.C.P.U. to a prearranged meeting with Burningum. Enikk reveals that Exotic is behind the attacks, and during investigation, the Commander is taken hostage. Crow hopes to use the Rapture attack to force the Ark into respecting Nikke's again, and her plan comes to fruition once a brainwashed Yuni, tormented with anger over losing Mihara's former self, broadcasts to humans to leave the shelter, leading to mass slaughter. Despite Extrinsic's best efforts, only Jackal is captured in the ensuing chaos.^[32]

Attention immediately turns to saving as many lives as possible, with Infinity Rail lending a helping hand, although the Commander loses the Vaupus bullet to an increasingly deranged Yuni. After Crow attempts to bomb Infinity Rail's AZX train, the Commander deduces that Crow's next target is Syuen, using Yuni as bait. Her ultimate plans are realized when Yuni lures Syuen to the medical center and beats her out of rage, blaming her for causing Miraha's memory wipe and for her general mistreatment. Crow knocks out the Counters and successfully entices the Commander into a fit of vengeful rage against her. Viper, growing disillusioned by Crow especially after she mortally wounds E.H., defects though she is accidentally killed by Syuen. Rapi stops the Commander from fulfilling Crow's wishes by knocking the Exotic leader out.^[33]

After offering Eden's support to Burningum, Dorothy's tour of the Ark is interrupted by Nihilister escaping. Against another powerful Heretic, Indivilla, and a revived Chatterbox, Rapi is forced to use her Red Hood transformation, though she mysteriously disappears afterwards. The Commander leaves on a mission to find and return Rapi. Teaming up with Dorothy, they eventually find Rapi, albeit completely transformed into Red Hood, a former member of the legendary Goddess squad and former teammate of Dorothy, accompanied by two other pilgrims Crown and Chime. Red Hood maintains her previous self, although she and Dorothy have clearly drifted apart. Tensions reach a boiling point when Dorothy attempts to take Rapi hostage in Red Hood's body. Red Hood angrily berates the former Goddess leader for dishonoring the pride of the squad and encourages her to forgive the Ark before permanently releasing control back to Rapi. After the Counters successfully return, Dorothy continues her discussions with an increasingly suspicious Burningum. Privately, Dorothy continues to reject the notion of forgiveness.^[34]

Development and release

Nikke was developed by South Korean-based studio Shift Up working with Level Infinite, a publishing brand of Tencent Games.^[35] Development began between 2017 and 2018 with an internal planning competition of which one idea was selected to be the predecessor of the game.^[36][37] It was originally planned to be played from a first-person perspective but later was changed to incorporate battle poses inspired by the Gears of War series.^[37]

Shift Up's CEO Kim Hyung-tae, who was responsible for the production and illustrations of the game, said in an interview with IGN Japan that the battle environment features life-size models using Live2D,^[4] instead of chibi-style characters, to amplify sex appeal.^[37] Contributing composers include Hiroyuki Sawano, who produced one of the game's theme song.^[38] Shift Up and Level Infinite hosted closed beta tests for the global version between the announcement and its release, allowing selected registrants to test out the game mechanics. The game contains voice-overs in English, Japanese and Korean.^[39]

Shift Up first revealed Nikke along with Stellar Blade at the Crank in Showcase event in 2019,^[1] with several trade exhibitions being held ahead of its launch, such as at BEXCO^[40] and Tokyo Game Show.^[37] The game was initially planned to be released worldwide for Android and iOS in 2020,^[1] but it was rescheduled and officially released on November 4, 2022.^[41] A Microsoft Windows version of the game was released on February 15, 2023, with, soon later, a brand collaboration with manga series Chainsaw Man that introduced characters therefrom as playable characters.^[42] The game has since collaborated with the RPG Nier: Automata in September of the same year.^[43]

Reception

According to data analysis from SensorTower, Nikke grossed over $70 million in revenue in its first month of release,^[11] which was mostly generated from Japan, South Korea, and the United States.^[35] It reached a total of $400 million not one year after its release,^[44] and saw over 25 million downloads before the Windows port's release.^[45] PocketGamer.biz reported that though the game's "excess of fanservice" played a significant role in its "more than respectable levels of success",^[45] its unique gacha mechanics may have also been a contributing factor.^[46][11]

Goddess of Victory: Nikke was nominated for the Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards 2022's "Best App" category.^[47]

Controversies

Following the release of a character costume, players criticized Tencent for having the design altered from beta versions to show less revealing clothing. Since Tencent is based in China, its video games must adhere to the censorship policies of China in addition to those of other jurisdictions.^[46][48]

In January 2023, an official Thai advertisement—which depicted a Nikke player watching Anis', Rapi's and Marian's bouncing buttocks and fantasizing about such with cosplayers—was taken down and apologized for by Tencent after they received backlash from Thai fans who were unhappy with the portrayal of the playerbase.^[49] This pullback, however, faced another backlash from a different portion of fans who were already upset with the censorship,^[48] claiming that "there is nothing wrong with the ad for being honest about why some players are attracted to the game".^[50]