The maker of a popular video game has controversially given a character the same birth date as the Christchurch mosque terror attack.
The NZ Herald reported fans of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege game have called the move "tasteless", "incompetent" and "ignorant".
The game's newest character is a New Zealand woman called Hāpai “Rauora” Iwini.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege game was made by Ubisoft Montreal.
In a preview of the tactical shooter game, the character had a moko kauae, the Herald reported.
Ubisoft’s website stated the character was born in Christchurch on March 15.
In 2019 a gunman opened fire at Masjid Annur on Deans Ave and the old Linwood Islamic Centre, killing 51 people and seriously injuring many more.
The Australian-born gunman was the first person in New Zealand to be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
Fans of the game shared their anger and disappointment on social media.
"It’s so blatant I can’t help but feel this is some writer’s idea of a ‘joke’,” a comment read.
Another commenter wrote: "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?"
“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.”I
The character's biography in the game outlined details about her life, such as she was a captain in the New Zealand military and was from the Rārata iwi.
Her biography also said she is a “lifelong practitioner of kaupapa Māori”.
