During an interview with TheGamer, former BioWare writer Brian Kindregan confirmed what many gamers have known for a long time. Mass Effect 2’s Jack was intended to be pansexual, rather than being the love interest of Shepard’s only version.
At a very late stage in development, Jack became available only to traditional relationships. In fact, she was pansexual for most of the development.
The writer noted that the reason for Jack’s change in orientation was a flurry of negativity, in particular from the Fox News. Many right-wing media outlets gave absurd attention to the sex scenes of the original Mass Effect, so BioWare decided not to risk it. That being said, Jack’s backstory clearly described her as interested in all genders and races.
Curiously, BioWare co-developer Stanley Wu openly denied that Fox News reporting led to the game change.
It’s not clear if Jack will return to his original orientation with the release of Mass Effect: Legensary Edition.
