The game 1348 Ex Voto, released on March 12, has drawn criticism online for its lesbian romance elements and receipt of Italian government tax credits. Some users claim the funding supports propaganda, though the game's eligibility stems from cultural criteria unrelated to its content. The controversy highlights tensions around representation in video games.
Developed by Sedleo and published by Dear Villagers, 1348 Ex Voto is a third-person action-adventure game set in 14th-century medieval Italy. It launched on March 12 and received a Metacritic critic score of 54, contrasted by a user score of 1.1, which developers attribute partly to backlash against its inclusion of lesbian romance.
The controversy escalated after reports that the game received approximately €656,131 in tax credits and grants from the Italian Ministry of Culture’s Video Games Tax Relief program between 2021 and 2024. An X account, Pirat_Nation, stated, “Turns out Ex Voto 1348 was funded through the Italian grants system, so Italian taxpayers funded propaganda.” Critics online have linked the funding to the game's LGBTQ+ elements, labeling it as forced diversity.
However, the tax relief program requires games to score 70 out of 100 points for cultural value, based on factors such as ties to European historical or artistic heritage (15 points), themes related to European history or culture (15 points), originality (15 points), and support for European languages including Italian (5 points). No criteria mention content related to romance or representation.
PCGamesN writer Nat Smith noted that the game's LGBTQ+ portrayal is minimal, stating you “never see so much as a tender brush of hands” in the story. Similar funding went to other titles, including €306,352 for Nacon Studio Milan’s TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 in 2023, €463,045 for Ubisoft Studios SRL’s Star Wars Outlaws in 2024, and €52,179 for Trinity Team’s Bud Spencer & Terence Hill – Slaps and Beans 2 in 2022.
The Italian program aims to boost domestic game development, creating jobs and generating tax revenue. As development costs increase and redundancies rise, such incentives support the industry, though the backlash against 1348 Ex Voto underscores ongoing debates over content and funding.
