Several times, Jeff Vogel has mentioned that the Geneforge games aren’t as popular as his other products. Now that the series has concluded, we can take a closer look at what sets it apart from the typical RPG.
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Agents are always female, while Shapers and Guardians are male. [...] That was extended to the additional rebel classes, with Infiltrators, Sorceresses, and Shock Troopers all women, and Lifecrafters and Warriors being men. Serviles, well, no one knows what’s under that hooded robe.

I have a friend who loves Diablo 2, yet he won’t play the Amazon because it’s strictly female. How far such feelings extend into the general player base, I don’t know. But there are certainly some who are put off by lack of gender choice in choosing a character.
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Geneforge tramples all over that, and says: you decide what’s right and wrong. You decide who to support. The ending you get goes along with your decisions, and no judgment is made as to whether or not you chose correctly.

For some, that can be scary, as they’re so used to having it all laid out for them from the start. And others may not want to become so involved; they just want to follow a story, beat on monsters, grab loot, and save the world in the usual Foozle fight. They’d rather not make any decisions beyond whether or not to accept a particular side job.​