The creators of Atomic Heart have confirmed that they will remove the racist caricatures that appear in the shooter. All of this will happen through patching.
As reported by IGN USA’s Kat Bailey, the Atomic Heart team shared this statement: “The Mundfish team would like to thank PC Gamer contributor for bringing this insensitivity to our attention. We apologize if the use of animation or period music hurts or offends. We will amend the relevant parts.”
Referring to the animation introduced in Atomic Heart that can be seen through one of the TVs in the game. Inside, a caricature of a black man, as was often the case in old Western cartoons. This is clearly a racist representation. You can see a dedicated clip in the tweet below.
Atomic Heart Developers:
“The Mundfish team thanks PC Gamer contributor for bringing this lack of sensitivity to our attention. We’re sorry if the use of outdated animation or music hurts or offends. We will amend the relevant parts.”
section: https://t.co/58SUMRXA7F
– Kat Bailey (The_Katbot) February 24, 2023
I literally just saw this and not sure what the problem is? pic.twitter.com/Bqnwgv46iV
— jebediahmckenna (@jebediahmckenna) February 24, 2023
According to a Twitter user, the animation is “Rabbit & The Wolf”, which is an old series. So it wouldn’t be an original creation by the Mundfish team made specifically for the game. Above you can see the aggressive character of the series.
However, the impression is that this is a bug related to a minor component of the game that will be addressed as soon as possible.
“Web geek. Wannabe thinker. Reader. Freelance travel evangelist. Pop culture aficionado. Certified music scholar.”