Dustborn developer Purple Thread Video games has launched a press release decrying the “tidal wave of hate and abuse” that has surrounded the studio and sport since its launch final week.
Dustborn is an alt-history Americana highway journey sport that wears its politics on its sleeve: It is a sport a few “group of outcast queers and exploited staff [who] battle fascist cops and smash company drones whereas navigating new and evolving relationships,” as we put it in our June preview. It holds a “largely optimistic” person score on Steam and an mixture crucial rating of 68 on Metacritic—by all appearances it is a respectable sport focusing on a reasonably particular viewers.
However it’s additionally attracted appreciable “tradition wars” backlash, as seen in numerous person critiques, YouTube movies, and Reddit threads the place you may see the phrase “woke” used loads. There’s additionally a not-insignificant quantity of glee over Dustborn’s apparently modest launch gross sales, one more instance of the frankly pathetic eagerness some individuals need to grave dance on video games they do not like.
Ten days after Dustborn’s launch, Purple Thread has had sufficient of it. “We anticipated Dustborn to spark dialog and debate, and seemed ahead to partaking with our gamers in a optimistic and constructive vogue,” the studio stated in a message posted to social media. “Sadly, that dialog has been drowned out by a tidal wave of hate and abuse.
“We welcome considerate suggestions and respectful criticism. We embrace dialogue and debate. However we have now zero tolerance for hate speech, harassment, and threats of any form. Those that have interaction in such conduct can be faraway from our neighborhood.”
Dustborn writer Quantic Dream expressed “heartfelt assist” for Purple Thread Video games in a retweet of the studio’s assertion, including, “We stand united towards hate in all its types and are dedicated to fostering communities constructed on understanding and respect.”
In a follow-up assertion offered to PC Gamer, Purple Thread stated Dustborn is a sport that “emphasizes the facility of phrases and the significance of constructing an inclusive society the place everybody belongs.”Â
Understandably, after all, there are limits to inclusion, and individuals who insist on being persistent dickholes as a result of a videogame character makes use of gender-neutral pronouns are going to search out themselves on the skin.
“We all the time welcome constructive enter, nonetheless, we don’t tolerate the spreading of hate,” the studio stated. “We’re conscious of sure express and hateful feedback on our numerous channels and have taken motion to ban these customers instantly. We need to remind gamers that we have now a zero-tolerance coverage for threats, hate speech, or harassment. We’ll proceed striving to construct a optimistic neighborhood the place everybody feels secure to be their genuine self.”
If you happen to’re interested in Dustborn—as a sport, not a pawn in on-line tradition wars stupidity—however not fairly able to commit, a demo is out there on Steam.