There's a world of difference between some ugly ****** woman at the back of the bus (where ******* belong) and one in the driver's seat, especially when the entry she's starring in also ruins the eldritch trickster god character and then has the strong and sassy Shaniqua kill him off.
Liberals seem to (deliberately) forget that most of the world isn't their Commiefornia bubble. ****** hate *******, Pajeets hate *******, even other ******* hate *******. A game with a white or Asian male protagonist will do well (barring other factors), a game with an attractive female protagonist will do well, but a game with an ugly black ****? You've instantly alienated millions of potential costumers.
It's just asking for lost sales, as Arkane found out, but apparently the lesson didn't stick, because they went on to put another ugly ****** front and center with Redfall and Deathloop, and both were huge flops.