NexusMods has removed a mod that aimed to make one of Baldur's Gate 3's most popular queer romances heterosexual in the wake of a backlash from fans.
The mod, which turned Dame Aylin into "Ser Aylin," used AI voices and other tricks to reimagine her as a man. The mod met with swift backlash, with one post on Reddit urging fans not to support the mod earning more than 17,000 upvotes. The post notes that the mod is included in a collection that, among other things, seeks to remove people of color from Larian's popular RPG.
In a post explaining the ban, NexusMods said that the mod violated the site's community rules by "appearing to reduce diversity in Baldur's Gate 3 by taking a same-sex couple and swapping the gender of one of the partners to make them heterosexual."
The post continues, "We are for inclusivity, we are for diversity. If we think someone is uploading a mod on our site with the intent to deliberately be against inclusivity and/or diversity then we will take action against it. The same goes for people attempting to troll other users with mods deliberately to cause a rise. We aren't the authority on what users can and cannot mod. Us removing a mod only means it cannot be found at Nexus Mods, nothing more, nothing less. As a private business, we have a right to choose what content we do and do not want to host on our platform. Respect this right the same way you want respect for your rights."
Warning: Spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3 Act 2
Dame Aylin appears in Baldur's Gate 3's Act 2, where she quickly reestablishes her romantic connection with Isobel, who you (hopefully) rescued at the Last Light Inn. Dame Aylin is a powerful and ferocious warrior driven in part by vengeance, but also by her love and loyalty to Isobel.
Since its release back in August, Baldur's Gate 3 has been hailed as one of the best games of 2023, having received multiple nominations at Thursday's Game Awards. Larian Studios recently released Patch 5, which among other things adds a brand-new playable epilogue. An Xbox release is expected by the end of the month.
For more, check out our complete Baldur's Gate 3 walkthrough.
Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
