Wales Interactive has removed details of its upcoming interactive film title Gamer Girl following criticism.
The Welsh independent games developer and publisher pulled the game’s trailer from YouTube and the announcement post from its website, reports PC Gamer and GamesIndustry.biz and Rod ‘Slasher’ Breslau.
However, it’s still live on other channels including the following:
Gamer Girl is an ‘FMV thriller’ that covers the story of fictional streamer Abicake99.
Players adopt the role of a moderator for the up and coming streamer, who has returned online after the disappearance of her friend Becky. They must control Abi’s stream, guide her choices and uncover the threat she faces by an anonymous stalker who hides in the stream’s chat.
Wales Interactive said Gamer Girl was co-written by lead actress Alexandra Burton.
The interactive film title, developed by FMV Future, was set to feature a ‘multi-branched narrative and real-time chat simulation’. It was due to release on Steam, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in September, however the future of the title now seems to be up in air.
Many Twitter users criticised the game for its content and subject matter in the following Twitter thread, prompting Wales Interactive to pull some of the game’s marketing materials online:
However, some expressed interest in playing the title.
Gamer Girl was co-developed and to be published by Wales Interactive, who previously launched titles including The Complex, Late Shift and Maid of Sker.
It’s not clear whether Gamer Girl will still launch or not. Esports News UK has reached out to Wales Interactive and will provide an update if we hear anything.
The news follows a disturbing spate of accusations around harassment towards women in the esports and video games industry.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
