Valve refunded BioShock Infinite gamer upset over religious scene

This post contains spoilers about the BioShock Infinite campaign.

Early on in BioShock Infinite, the game forces players to accept the Christian religious sacrament of baptism. This did not sit well with Breen Malmberg, a gamer and a Christian, who explained to Kotaku that he refused to accept the digital baptism and demanded a refund from Valve.

"As baptism of the Holy spirit is at the center of Christianity--of which I am a devout believer--I am basically being forced to make a choice between committing extreme blasphemy by my actions in choosing to accept this 'choice' or forced to quit playing the game before it even really starts," Malmberg said.

"Of course I cannot hold true to my beliefs and also commit this act, so I am therefor[e] forced to not play the game," he added.

Malmberg then penned a letter to Valve, because he purchased the game for PC through Steam, explaining the situation. Valve reportedly gave Malmberg a full refund, though the company has not confirmed this publicly or with GameSpot.

BioShock Infinite is not the first game to conflict with religious teachings, but this instance was different for Malmberg, because there was no other option; no way to continue the game unless his character accepted baptism.

"The difference here is that you are forced to make a decision that violates those beliefs in order to continue with the game--which is not something I have run into very often," he said.

This is not the first time BioShock Infinite has made headlines for its religious themes. During the game's development, an Irrational Games employee was so disgusted at the ideas the game proposed that he wrote a resignation letter. He would end up staying with the company and in fact, his discussions with creative director Ken Levine would end up being instrumental in the game's writing of antagonist Comstock.