A trailer appeared very briefly on PlayStation's YouTube page for a new full-motion video game called Gamer Girl, which appears to cast the player as a Twitch moderator protecting a female streamer from harassment. It was pulled from the channel swiftly after it was debuted, and publisher Wales Interactive has been removing all trace of the game from every corner of the internet that it can reach.
Online harassment is a deeply serious issue and a huge concern for almost anyone who produces content on the internet. It's more or less a well-known fact that people should never read YouTube comments for just this reason, and the inherent danger of that corner of the internet is a running joke that almost everyone knows. But the issue goes much, much deeper than that. Streamers on Twitch and other platforms can face hate speech, sexual harassment, and even death threats. Exposing oneself to that kind of abuse on a regular basis can cause serious mental and emotional strain, and can even lead to depression. More and more streamers have been coming out recently with stories of the harassment they've suffered. The public is still learning to understand just how terrible of a problem this is.
It's also a very risky subject material for a video game, as indicated by the overwhelmingly negative reaction to Gamer Girl (via Gaming Nexus). The game stars a fictional streamer called Abicake99, and casts the player as the chat moderator on her streams. It's the player's job to filter out unwanted messages and protect her from the trolls. Abicake99 also has a more personal storyline featuring a missing friend and a stalking ex, and the moderator gets caught up in this story as the game progresses. The game seems to have some horror elements as well, as the trailer concluded with Abicake99 exploring a darkened building and ending with a brief jumpscare. The trailer was pulled from YouTube but was posted to Twitter soon afterward, and can be watched below.
It isn't hard to see why the trailer received such negative reviews. It appears to sensationalize the problems that Abicake99 (and the real streamers she's based on) faces every day, and treats the whole thing as a thrilling adventure when in reality there's nothing exciting about it. Some even accused the game of romanticizing these issues. Wales Interactive was quick to respond, insisting that its intent with Gamer Girl was to raise awareness of online abuse and its severity, without glorifying it. It also claimed to have researched the topic thoroughly and to have interviewed several female streamers to achieve a thorough understanding of the problem. But the backlash the game has received cannot be denied. The reveal trailer has even been stricken from Wales Interactive's own website, which now redirects any link to the reveal to a blank page instead.
Based on Wales Interactive's statement, it seems like the makers of Gamer Girl have their hearts in the right place. But it's plain to see that the approach they're taking could not have been handled worse. The trailer set entirely the wrong tone for an issue this severe. If the final product is anything like the trailer indicated, then it looks unlikely that Wales Interactive will handle the subject matter in an appropriate way, no matter how much research they put into it. Bringing real-life issues into the world of video games is always a treacherous proposition. If it ever releases after the reception it received, Gamer Girl looks poised to prove just how dangerous it can be.
Sources: Gaming Nexus, Rod Brestau