Zarmena Khan Defends BioWare, But This Time, Her Defense is So Completely Ridiculous That it Feels Like Satire At This Point...
Zarmena Khan is back in the spotlight with another article for PlayStation LifeStyle, this time defending Dragon Age: The Veilguard with an... intense angle. If her name sounds familiar, it’s because I recently covered her spirited defense of Ghost of Yotei and her attempts to paint Erika Ishii as a saint while slandering countless gamers for daring to question the 'authority'.
Quick refresher for those who put this woman out of your mind (for good reason) or missed my initial coverage of her: Zarmena Khan is a writer for PlayStation LifeStyle:
She's developed quite the reputation for defending controversial gaming industry figures and stances... while pushing an ideological narrative (and yes, she is already listed on Kotaku Detected).
She called gamers “trolls” for simply questioning the casting choice of Erika Ishii, and she's now become a 'regular' in defending corporate and ideological interests over genuine community concerns.
Khan’s articles lack any kind of honest balance, favoring agenda-driven narratives with no attention paid to factual integrity. Her background, which includes work for the British government prior to joining PlayStation LifeStyle, has also raised plenty of questions about her true connection to the gaming community... Because tbh, that sure sounds to me like someone who leans heavily into the area of activism.
She's quickly becoming one of the most prominent activist voices in gaming media, defending industry elites while ignoring the voices of everyday gamers.
Ok, with all that out of the way, let's dive into this comedy:
Khan has now taken on the role of BioWare’s champion, arguing that the company is right to block so-called “trolls” from criticizing the game. Ironically, PSLS’s official Twitter account shared her article while ALSO blocking replies, effectively silencing the discussion and demonstrating the exact echo chamber mentality Khan seems intent on promoting...
Zarmena’s latest article, titled "Dragon Age: The Veilguard Off to a Good Start Amid Troll Attacks" frames Veilguard’s launch as some kind of 'triumphant' moment for BioWare, claiming that the game is experiencing “strong sales” despite supposed “grifters” attempting to harm its clear "success". Khan specifically highlights that right-wing voices have criticized the game, insinuating that any of these critiques are baseless. She dismisses any substantive complaints from gamers, whom she disparages as “the usual grifters,” framing them as ideologically motivated attackers... rather than... concerned consumers.
Khan does acknowledge that Veilguard’s concurrent player count is lower than that of other recent releases, like the big daddy of all games this year, Black Myth: Wukong. However, she brushes those pesky facts aside with an amusingly defensive comment:
“Concurrent players mean the number of people playing a game at the same time — it’s not a sales number.”
The statement is technically true but reeks of spin and desperation. Concurrency is indeed an indicator of player engagement and excitement around a game, so the fact that Veilguard is lagging so far behind other big releases tells quite a different story than the one Khan is attempting to push.
Her tone then shifts to a celebration of Veilguard’s supposed critical success, pointing out its 84/100 Metacritic score on the PS5 as if it’s some sort of flawless victory.
“Looking at legitimate reviews, critics seem a bit split on the title, especially its pacing”
She writes, glossing over this critique with a thinly veiled attempt to present any negative response as negligible. Her stance exposes the lengths she's willing to go to spin BioWare’s actions in any positive light, disregarding the many fans who have been critical of Veilguard’s storytelling and mechanics.
Khan also attempts to argue that BioWare has somehow "redeemed itself" from the disaster that was Anthem, thanks to Veilguard...? But for anyone who’s seen her writing before, it’s clear that Zarmena is more interested in defending corporate moves and ideological stances than in genuine critiques.
She also loves to rage against and hate on actual gamers on her twitter account almost daily. If she hates gamers so damn much, I'd argue... She's in the wrong line of work.
But hey, maybe that's just me...
Honestly, Zarmena is quickly becoming one of my favorite activists to cover—not because of any kind of profound insights she has to offer, but precisely because of how hysetrically ridiculous her defenses are.
If I didn’t already know her background, I’d almost assume her articles were satire. Her unwavering alignment with corporate interests and her constant, sweeping dismissals of dissenting voices continues to create articles that are both infuriating and, frankly, beyond entertaining in their lack of self-awareness.
She wants to compare Dragon Age to games, but doesn't dare mention any, as it would instantly invalidate her argument.
Monster Hunter Wilds BETA came out on the same day... and blew the numbers out of the water:
Why would she ignore that? So strange...
Anyways... Keep up the terrible work, Zarmena! You are showing all the professional journos out there just how embarrassingly pathetic your line of work truly is!
~Smash
I thought I would chime in here and say here that I don't think anybody should listen to this Ugly female Freak at all because all she's gonna do is spew a bunch of stupid Bullshit