Amazon responds to criticisms of lost gender representation

Amazon Games has responded to criticism about the gender representation in Lost Ark — specifically those related to gender-locked chapters and female-themed armor.

Despite the success of Lost Ark, many have expressed concerns about the ways the game has treated gender so far. Categories in Lost Ark are currently gender locked, which means that only certain genders can be a certain category. As it is, only men can be warriors and only women can be witches or murderers.

In addition, many players have expressed disappointment with the abrasive nature of the Lost Ark’s many female character armor sets. It’s a problem we’ve been seeing for quite some time, and it’s surprising that it still exists; The male characters wear full and intricate armor, to the point where you wonder how they even move. On the other hand, female characters are often given gravity-defying armor that doesn’t even protect them from harsh winds.

It looks like Amazon Games is looking to make some changes, albeit small. In a statement to EurogamerSomin Park, president of the Amazon Games franchise, said of the gender-locked chapters, “Smilegate RPG is actively working on this; female Berserker is the next category to come to Korea. While there is currently no male and female counterpart in the game in every category available, we’ve made an effort To include those in our launch row.”