Video game criticised for giving Kiwi character Christchurch mosque massacre birth date

• Ubisoft faced backlash for giving a Kiwi character the birth date of the Christchurch terror attack.
• Fans called the decision “tasteless” and expressed disappointment on social media.
• Hāpai “Rauora” Iwini, featuring a moko kauae, was revealed on Monday.

A popular shooting-related video game has come under fire from New Zealand players after they gave their newest character, a Kiwi woman, the birth date of the Christchurch terror attack.

Fans have labelled the decision as “tasteless”, “incompetent” and “ignorant” after a flurry of excitement over being represented on the world stage in an atypical fashion.

Hāpai “Rauora” Iwini was revealed as the latest character in the game Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege on Monday. The game was made by Ubisoft Montreal.

A short preview showed her bearing a moko kauae as well as a swathe of new gadgets and weapons.

According to Ubisoft’s website, she was born in Christchurch on a date many Kiwis will recognise – March 15.

Hāpai “Rauora” Iwini is the newest character in the shooting game Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege.

On March 15, 2019, a gunman opened fire at Masjid Annur and the Linwood Islamic Centre.

Within about a quarter of an hour, he had killed or mortally wounded 51 worshippers. Dozens more were injured.

Fans took to social media to share their disappointment over the company’s oversight.

“It’s so blatant I can’t help but feel this is some writer’s idea of a ‘joke’,” one said.

“There [are] 365 days in the year, and you chose the day of New Zealand’s worst mass shooting to be the birth date of a character? Who actually signs off on this?” another wrote.

“I’ve played the game since release and was so excited to see a Māori operator announcement today, but I have no clue what Ubisoft was thinking using March 15 as Rauora’s birth date.”

Some believed the birthdate could have been chosen by AI, while others blamed “incompetency” on an “overworked intern”.

The biography also included many other details about her life, including that she hails from the Rārata iwi and was a captain in the New Zealand military.

Her biography also said she is a “lifelong practitioner of kaupapa Māori”.

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege attracts thousands of players online and was released in 2015.

It is a tactical shooter game where each player can assume an attacking or defending role and complete tasks such as defusing a bomb or rescuing a hostage.

Ubisoft Montreal has been approached for comment.

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.