Just a day after Garena Philippines updated its policies regarding who should enter the “all-feminine” tournament The Iron Solari, they released a statement regarding the issue and an amendment to their previous ruling.

Controversy sparked when Garena PH created new rules catering to members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community wanting to join The Iron Solari, a local tournament catered to women. The ruling stated that a maximum of one gay/transgender woman is allowed to join the team. This was met with outrage from various gaming news sites, such as Kotaku, Polygon, and The Mary Sue, among others.

In its latest update, Garena PH stated:

Our initial ruling on LGBT player restrictions within the Iron Solari League has created a lot of good discussion and debate over the past 24 hours. After discussing the ruling with our partners and re-examining our approach, we have decided to remove these restrictions completely. This means that any player who self-identifies as female will be allowed to participate. We sincerely apologize for any offense we caused to the LGBT and gaming communities.

They also explained the goal of the said tournament, as well as thanked the community for its continuous support, with plans on keeping an open dialogue with the LGBT community.

Our original intent when we put together this tournament was to promote diversity in the competitive gaming community. Hence, we are grateful to our players who have consistently provided their feedback to help us learn and improve as we strive to develop an inclusive gaming environment for all. We’ll also be keeping our promise of having an open dialogue with all parties as we plan this and future events.

Source: Garena Philippines

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