Larian’s games can be very dark (they are USK 18 for a reason¹) and repelling people early on who would be outraged at the content may be a good strategy. Better than having a streamer in white armor with a large following go into a fit of rage at discovering where their decisions led them.
Yes, absolutely. Consistency is very important when developing a game. The worst thing you can do is turn 180 degrees in the middle of the process. People who played EA had no idea how it would turn out later on. Such sexualization was not planned from the beginning either, classic romances with one companion were planned, which were supposed to start at a party. If the game immediately positions itself as a "dating simulator" with the presence of hard traumatizing content at certain elections, "sex with a bear", "evil" gets the full (without the bear, but still will not show a little), then connoisseurs of classic RPGs, story and freedom of roleplay, of course, will not come and will not be disappointed and will not even spend money. Those who like it will come, make the cash register, and everyone will be happy. Consistency and openly positioning your vision at once is the key to success and audience satisfaction.
