Notice how you see a lot of Riggs in this trailer, but never hear from him

As New Zealand site Newshub says, “Charles Upham’s significance cannot be overstated. No other combat soldier has ever been awarded two Victoria Crosses in all of history. That incredible achievement belongs to our country alone, Aotearoa New Zealand.”

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“It’s like turning Sir Edmund Hillary into an Australian, or Lorde, or Jonah Lomu. It’s an insult. At best, it’s ignorance; at worst, it’s a giant middle finger to us all.”

Let me explain why their hackles are up. New Zealand is a tiny country by global standards, with a population of just under five million people. But it has long punched above its weight on the world stage, from sport to its contributions to popular culture, something New Zealanders are justifiably proud of. That pride extends to the nation’s efforts in both World Wars.

To have one of their national heroes represented in this game, and then turned into someone from Australia, sucks! And I say that as an Australian. If the other three characters from the game’s single-player campaign were modelled so closely on their real-life counterparts, why make such a move for the fourth?

Bizarrely, Sledgehammer actually responded to Newshub’s questions on the matter, with Creative Director David Swenson saying, “As with all the main characters in the campaign, we drew a lot of inspiration from real life soldiers. With Lucas Riggs, we drew a lot of that inspiration from Charles Upham, whose exploits embodied the spirit of all the Commonwealth forces serving in North Africa.”

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So...yeah, except you made him an Australian! And you didn’t even need to! I honestly can’t think of a single good reason to do this. Swenson’s comments show it clearly wasn’t a mistake, as unlikely that explanation may have been. Australia is itself a tiny market—with a population of around 25 million—and is rarely represented in games like this, so it’s not like it’ll make a difference in terms of sales.

And when it comes to optics, Australians aren’t exactly going to beam with pride over the inclusion/switcheroo of a Kiwi hero either. If Sledgehammer wanted to honour an Aussie soldier they could have just picked someone from...Australia. I know for people elsewhere in the world this likely won’t be a big deal, if it’s a deal at all, but I’m just floored by the pointlessness of this snub.

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Thanks Jon!

Image for article titled Call of Duty: Vanguard Turns Kiwi War Hero Into An Australian
Image: Call of Duty: Vanguard
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