Platform: For PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Steam, PC
Genre: Battle-Royale
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Respawn Entertainment
Notes: When it deburted in 2019, Apex Legends introduced a Polynesian character named Makoa Gibraltar. With Gibraltar wielding a patu or mere, and finishing his enemies off with a haka-inspired victory dance, gamers were quick to identify cultural appropriation at play.
In 2022 - season 12 - the game introduced Margaret Kōhere, aka Mad Maggie as a specifically Māori character - with apparently a lot of thought and care. The EA collaborated with Vincent Egan of Māui Studios, and Kōhere was voiced by Nicola Kāwana. According to this article from Stuff:
"“There's a patch on there that was designed by Vincent’s studio, actually, it's very, very Māori influenced. And there are more subtle details that Māori fans I think will pick up on.”"
Overall Rating: Some of the character skins still have tattoos and other adornments that are "generically Polynesian". And of course, Māori are not a monolith and there is no pleasing everyone. As this article from The Gamer states:
"Some fans have suggested that consultancy is not enough, however. Māori people that I have spoken with suggest that Respawn should set aside some of the profits it makes from sales of Maggie’s Legend and skins to aid Māori game developers who are underrepresented in the industry or otherwise support the culture that it is profiting from. I posited this question at the roundtable but it was not selected to be answered. TheGamer reached out to Respawn with our question by email after the roundtable interview, but it did not get back to us in time for publication."
Images: Apex Legends Wiki, Ben Sledge (The Loadout and The Gamer), Darren Bevan (Stuff), IGN