WB Games Apologizes for Zombies Yelling the N-Word in Back 4 Blood

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We’ve all had those hilarious moments in games that are so bad they’re good. They’re what you end up telling your friends about, and it’s not horrifying at all. It’s just ridiculous, and the kind of thing that would never happen in real life.

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Turtle Rock (photo)

Back 4 Blood, a co-op survival shooter created by the original developers of Left 4 Dead, opened its open beta last week, allowing players to join up in groups of four to blast away legions of “Ridden,” once-human hosts of a deadly parasite.

While fans of Valve’s zombie classic have praised its spiritual successor during the ongoing test period (which ends today, August 9 and will be followed by another beta period on August 12 for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms), Turtle Rock Studios’ Back 4 Blood has unfortunately sparked some major controversy due to some of the voice work heard in the game.

Some of the zombies seem to have a tendency of screaming a specific racist slur as they charge towards the game’s protagonists, as shown by numerous footage shared on Twitter and other social media platforms—the n-word, to be precise.

The issue hasn’t gone ignored by WB Games, the game’s publisher. Following a report by Kotaku, WB Games sent a statement to the publication explaining that the harsh language was not intended.

WB Games stated, “The audio is the product of two distinct Ridden growls playing concurrently and sounding like that phrase when heard combined.”

The issue, according to the publisher, should be resolved by the time Back 4 Blood is released, at the absolute latest.

They need to do something about this line, bro pic.twitter.com/5As1I6oDlA

August 6, 2021 — Dotodoya (@DotoDoya)

Our staff has been informed of the harsh language that may be heard throughout the game. This was never meant to be part of our games and was never recorded. The audio is made up of two Ridden growls that are playing at the same time and sound like that word when combined. We’re working hard to resolve this problem, which should be resolved either before the Beta or when the game releases.

Kotaku is the source of this information.