Deadly Premonition 2 creator apologises for offensive treatment of trans character

Creator Hidetaka Suehiro vowed to re-write problematic scenes, admitting ‘I might have hurt transgender people’

The creator of the Nintendo Switch game Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise has apologised for the game’s offensive handling of a transgender character.

The game, a sequel to the 2010 cult hit Deadly Premonition, was released last week.

In the game, a trans character called Lena is repeatedly misgendered and deadnamed by characters including the game’s protagonist. Deadnaming is when trans or non-binary people are addressed with their birth name or other former name without consent.

Hidetaka Suehiro, the game’s developer, issued an apology on Twitter after the game faced criticism around the issue. He preceded the message by saying that it was composed using Google Translate.

“I realised [after it was] pointed out [by] friends, I might have hurt transgender people in my scenario. It wasn’t intentional. I am really sorry for that.”

He revealed that several scenes will be rewritten “ASAP”, in consultation with a team “that included diversity”.

In the days since its release, the game has been criticised for its problematic handling of Lena’s storyline, as well as a host of egregious technical issues.

In a one-star review of the game for US Gamer, Mathew Olsen noted that the game’s handling of its transgender character “hasn’t sat right with me”.

“I CANNOT BELIEVE how terribly this game runs,” wrote another critic. “A disgrace.”