Halo Infinite Fixes Offensive Juneteenth Cosmetic Name, 343 Apologizes
Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries has changed an offensive cosmetic name released as part of a Juneteenth event, and apologized to fans for what it called a “hurtful” mistake.
A Halo Infinite nameplate color palette released to celebrate Juneteenth – a federal holiday in the U.S. commemorating the emancipation of slaves – was named Bonobo, a species of great ape.
The offensive name was called out by players, including Sean W on YouTube, which prompted 343 to quickly change the palette’s name to Freedom and apologise for what it claimed was a mistake.
the Juneteenth palette is called “Bonobo” i would really like this to be fixed asap
dont really care wth happened
video contains what i saw when i checked in my game@Unyshek @ske7ch https://t.co/EhucfbqZkg— Sean W (@seanwdubs) June 14, 2022
“While the original name refers to an internal toolset, it was not intended to be applied to this content and we recognize the harm it may have caused,” said Halo’s senior community manager John Junyszek on Twitter. “The palette was incorrectly named and we immediately renamed it via an update.”
343 boss Bonnie Ross also apologised for the name (below). “We were made aware of a palette option for our Juneteenth emblem that contained a term that was offensive and hurtful. The team immediately addressed this issue via an update,” she tweeted.
“We are a studio and franchise that is committed to inclusivity where everyone is welcome and supported to be their true self. On behalf of 343, I apologize for making a celebrated moment a hurtful moment.”
All I ask is how an oversight like this happens and what steps are being taken to avoid similar issues in the future?
— Fuzzy Belvedere 🎮 (@Fuzzy_Belvedere) June 15, 2022
Halo players have continued to ask for a deeper explanation, however, asking why this item in particular was named Bonobo after an internal toolset and how no quality assurance staff noticed the issue. IGN has reached out to Microsoft for comment.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
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