(Content warning: mentions of racism, queer- and transphobia, antisemitism, including one queerphobic slur in the Quantic Dream section and mention of queerphobic, racist violence in the Pride Month bundles section.)
Hello and welcome to Get Your Game On! My name is Zainabb and I will always laugh at David Cage’s tears. Check out the great bundles listed below to directly support queer, trans, and BIPOC creators this month, and keep that solidarity going all year round. Here’s this week’s gaming news.
Quantic Dream Testifies Against Le Monde and Mediapart
If you needed more evidence that David Cage is a berk, look no further than his recent testimony, alongside other Quantic Dream executives, as part of the company’s lawsuit against French media publications Le Monde and Mediapart. Quantic Dream filed the lawsuit in 2018, alleging defamation after the publications released reports about a toxic working environment at the company that included racism, queer- and transphobia and antisemitism.
At the end of May, Quantic Dream CEOs David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumière testified in court, with Cage crying and throwing a tantrum about his “honour” before eventually storming out of the courtroom, and Fondaumière asking whether he could lie as he wasn’t under oath.
When you buy a Quantic Dream game, this is the kind of people you are supporting:https://t.co/cNkuE2L2Ni pic.twitter.com/IlneBawJ0y
— Pauline (@SimplyRagny) June 2, 2021
Alongside Cage’s tantrum, the court revealed a list of several bigoted remarks he has stated previously, including that “[Quantic Dream] don’t make games for fags” and that in their games, “all women are whores.” Big yikes. To make things even more ridiculous, Quantic Dream has allegedly provided the court with documents in defense of their company practices, aiming to refute allegations of social security fraud. Instead, the documents appear to potentially reveal an unlawful dismissal of an employee.
“Oh you shouldn’t make fun of David Cage, he is a creative visionary!”
David Cage: pic.twitter.com/kWtel93Ptd
— Bob, Forum Boy (@BobToasters) June 3, 2021
The verdict of the trial is set to be announced on July 8th. In the meantime, the former employees who raised issues of harassment, bigotry, and a toxic working environment are asking for donations to their solidarity fund if you’re able to contribute.
Jonah Scott Removed from Mr. Love Queen’s Choice After Tweeting That Taiwan Is a Country
Voiceover actor Jonah Scott has been fired from his work on popular Chinese mobile game Mr. Love Queen’s Choice, after tweeting that Taiwan is a country. Several other actors working on the game, as well as fans, have since voiced their support for Scott.
guys i looked his replies and i want to assume its about this? pic.twitter.com/1Upd1YR6rP
— Lauren || STREAM LOVEJOYS SONGS (@Arcadiellaa) June 4, 2021
The decision to fire Scott was announced by MLQC who stated that Scott’s tweet contained “incorrect facts which we do not agree with,” which is rarely a valid reason to end a formal contract with an employee. All content produced by Scott has been removed from the game.
Following the removal of Scott from the game, the official Discord server was closed by moderators in an attempt to “follow the server’s policy regarding politics and controversial topics.” Other voiceover artists have shown solidarity with Scott, including Kaiji Von Tang and Darrel J Delfin, with Joe Zieja and Sean Chiplock refusing to continue their work on the game unless Jonah Scott is reinstated.
I have no wish to provide voices for any company that lives in the delusion that Taiwan is not a country.
— Kaiji Von Tang (@KaijiTang) June 4, 2021
Effective immediately, I will not be reprising my role as Gavin for Mr Love Queen’s Choice unless Jonah is reinstated as Victor.
— Joe Zieja (@JoeZieja) June 4, 2021
Very recently, a colleague was fired from their VO gig for asserting that Taiwan is a country, something irrelevant to any contract we signed.
Effective immediately, I refuse any future offers to reprise as Kiro in #MLQC until/unless Jonah Scott is allowed to return as Victor.
— Sean Chiplock @ http://streamily.com/zelda (@sonicmega) June 4, 2021
Both Zieja and Chiplock have highlighted the fact that Scott’s comments were not in breach of the terms of their employment. The voice actors who have spoken out in support of Scott have faced harassment on social media.
I will not be party to the censorship and strong arming of my fellow actors for stating a Google-able fact, and one that is totally unrelated to the terms of our employment.
I adore the MLQC fandom and hope that a resolution can be reached, but I stand with Jonah.
— Joe Zieja (@JoeZieja) June 4, 2021
The agreements we sign throughout our careers cover a large number of reasonable accommodations: not leaking confidential info, not disparaging the project, and others.
Punishing talent because of political interference by your benefactors isn’t one of those reasonable demands.
— Sean Chiplock @ http://streamily.com/zelda (@sonicmega) June 4, 2021
Free Games and Bundles to Check Out This Pride Month
June is Pride Month in the UK and the US, leading up to Pride events at the end of the month or early July, in commemoration of the Stonewall riots and protests led by Black and brown trans activists and sex workers against police surveillance and brutality. Pride Month is regularly appropriated by corporations and companies who add rainbows to their social media accounts and products, even when their business practices contribute to the ongoing oppression and marginalisation of LGBTQIA+ communities.
We should promote and support queer and trans people all year round, especially queer Black and Indigenous people, and other people of colour, who lead our resistance and whose work built the foundation for our current struggles for queer and trans liberation and justice. Nonetheless, Pride Month offers a useful platform for queer indie creators, who you can support in a number of bundles and initiatives this month.
On itch.io, you can buy the Queer Games Bundle for 2021 for $60, which includes 236 indie games, software, and zines from 190 queer creators. You can also buy the TTRPG Charity Bundle for Trans Support for $20. This bundle gives you 75 TTRPG items from 46 creators, with profits split equally between Mermaids, a UK charity supporting queer and trans young people and children and their families, and the Transgender Law Center, an American trans-led charity advocating for trans rights in law, policy, and society.
I also recommend grabbing the Indie bundle for Palestinian Aid, which includes 1,019 indie games, assets, and soundtracks, all for $5 or more. All profits will be donated to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which provides food assistance and emergency mental and physical health protection for Palestinians in occupied territories as well as for Palestinian refugees.
The Palestinian struggle is an Indigenous struggle against colonisation and white supremacy worldwide. There is no queer liberation without global Indigenous liberation. The pinkwashing of Israel is rooted in colonialism, racism, Orientalism, and Islamophobia, resulting in the nation-state presenting itself as a “safe haven” for LGBTQIA+ people while materially oppressing and enacting state, carceral, and interpersonal violence against queer Palestinians and queer Jews, with queer and trans Palestinians facing ongoing sexual violence, torture, and blackmail in Israel. In turn, Israel’s pinkwashing, as with pinkwashing in the west, reinforces violent rhetoric against all queer people of colour. This month—and throughout the year—support Palestinian creators, including queer Palestinians, as well as Black and Indigenous makers and other makers of colour. As Martha said, “no pride for some of us without liberation for all of us.”
Finally, Tell Me Why is free on PC and Xbox One all month, with permanent access beyond June. The game comes from the developers of Life is Strange and follows a trans man and his sister trying to make sense of their troubled childhood. You can find content warnings and learn more about the development of the game over on the game’s official website.
In other news…
King of Fighters XV has been delayed to the first quarter of 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and rising cases of the virus in Japan.
Artist Judy A. Juracek has filed a lawsuit against Capcom, alleging that the company used unlicensed textured photos from her copyrighted book in various games, including Resident Evil 4 and Devil May Cry. According to the lawsuit, Juracek’s images were used without permission to construct game environments, details, and the Resident Evil 4 logo.
Target has resumed selling Pokémon cards, with a limit of 2 items per customer each day, after pausing sales back in March 2021 following a physical altercation over trading cards in one of their stores.
Stores will resume selling select Pokémon Trading Cards the week of June 1, 2021. Pokémon Trading Cards can be sold seven days per week and will have a limit of 2 items per guest per day.
— AskTarget (@AskTarget) June 2, 2021
Stolen data from CD Projekt has resurfaced, with source code, assets, dev kits, and internal development videos now being shared online. The data was stolen during a cyberattack on CD Projekt earlier this year and later sold. So far, no sensitive information, like employee information and company reports, has been shared.
Warner Bros. Games have apologised for a wildly misjudged Pride Month promo for Injustice 2 Mobile which challenged players to beat up canonically queer DC character Poison Ivy. The Global Challenge tasks players with collectively defeating Poison Ivy in the mobile fighting game. Warner Bros. Games have acknowledged that this promo contributes to the normalisation of violence against queer people, and queer women in particular, something that should have been obvious from the start.
A physical edition of hit indie game Spiritfarer has been announced. The edition will be released on PS4 and Nintendo Switch on July 27th, and comes with a postcard and sticker stamp set, as well as digital downloads of the soundtrack and art book. You can watch the announcement trailer below:
Nintendo has been awarded $2.1 million in damages following a lawsuit against pirated games seller RomUniverse. Nintendo originally asked for $15 million in damages and has previously won several similar lawsuits against pirated games and hacks.
Twitch will be introducing animated emotes by the end of 2021, with Twitch Partners getting initial access to the new feature. Importantly, Twitch will also add a function that allows users to turn off animated emotes if preferred. It’s nice to see an accessibility function included automatically, rather than in response to user feedback at a later date.
The first images of the upcoming Borderlands movie show silhouettes of the main cast, including Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Kevin Hart as Roland, Jamie Lee Curtis as Tannis, and Jack Black as Claptrap (sadly a junkyard robot silhouette rather than a Jack Black silhouette). The film is expected to be released in 2022.
CL4P-TP is a general purpose steward bot (think bulletproof Roomba with limitless knowledge but crippling anxiety). If he had any friends, they’d call him #CLAPTRAP! Get ready for #BorderlandsMovie, now in production! 📸 @jamieleecurtis pic.twitter.com/tlcFm3UYGk
— Borderlands (@BorderlandsFilm) June 3, 2021
Exceptional scientist. Brilliant archaeologist. Acute sociophobe. That’s Patricia #Tannis in a nutshell! You’re all in for a treat with #BorderlandsMovie. I guarantee it. 📸 @jamieleecurtis pic.twitter.com/hn6ONOdyOV
— Borderlands (@BorderlandsFilm) June 3, 2021
Marvel Entertainment have announced a new TTRPG called the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game, where players can take on the role of their favourite Marvel superhero or create a new, custom hero. The game is written and co-designed by Matt Forbeck and is set for release in 2023, with a playtest rulebook coming next year.
Dark Horse Comics are also moving into games with their new division, Dark Horse Games. (Some inspired names here.) Dark Horse Games is focusing on “refreshing older and less established IPs” across all video gaming platforms. Dark Horse owns Hellboy, Umbrella Academy, and other big titles that may be adapted into games at a later date.
Details about Shin Megami Tensei 5 have been leaked via the game’s official website, with a Nintendo Switch release date slated for November 11 in Japan. The leak also provided some information about the plot, which follows a high school student who becomes caught up in a battle between gods and demons in an alternate Tokyo.
This year’s virtual E3 schedule has been announced. The event will run from June 12th to the 15th, with showcases from Nintendo, Xbox, Capcom, Ubisoft, Square Enix and more. Fan registration is now live and attendees can watch the event via the E3 website or app.
As part of Square Enix’s E3 2021 showcase, the company has announced a “world premiere” from Eidos-Montreal, as well as updates on existing and upcoming games like Life is Strange: True Colors and Marvel’s Avengers, including information on the much-anticipated Black Panther expansion.
Nintendo is planning on opening one of its former factories as a tourist attraction in 2024. The factory is currently being renovated into the “Nintendo Gallery,” which will exhibit and showcase historic Nintendo products. The factory is located in Uji, near Kyoto, Japan.
A McDonald’s chicken nugget shaped like a crewmate from Among Us has sold for $99,997 on eBay. The nugget was included with a BTS McDonald’s meal during a promotion that the fast food chain ran with the K-pop band. Originally listed for 99 cents, the listing price skyrocketed during the auction. The nugget is listed as in “used” condition which is *chef’s kiss*.
THE NUGGET SAGA IS OVER 🐔🍗
the Among Us shaped chicken nugget (https://t.co/9I02dtWdmf) has sold for $99,997.00 + shipping????????????
here is a cursed tribute to a strange week, may the winner be blessed by the bean form forever pic.twitter.com/cJwFyj9XtB
— Among Us (@AmongUsGame) June 4, 2021
Zainabb Hull is an editor at Sidequest, a writer and organiser, and sort-of artist. They’re also a trans, queer, and disabled brown femme. They occasionally chost on Cohost.
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