this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2026
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‘This shouldn’t be normal’: developers speak out about bigotry on Steam, the world’s biggest PC gaming storefront (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 3 hours ago by Beep@lemmus.org to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] CaptainBasculin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 hour ago (2 children)

Game platforms should act neutral towards player reviews, because If people who have bought the game cannot express how they feel about the game, that would kill what makes Steam better for the players.

[–] Beep@lemmus.org 8 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 58 minutes ago)

Read the article before pretending to understand what it's talking about.

Some games have been targeted by Steam curators. Ethan, the developer of Coven, a first-person action-horror set in the 1600s, says he has been targeted by “CharlieTweetsDetected”, a curator devoted to recommending games based solely on whether their developers are perceived to have correctly mourned the assassination of rightwing activist Charlie Kirk.

CharlieTweetsDetected’s review of Coven, a first-person action-horror game set in the 1600s, read simply “Celebrated Sept 10th on blue sky [sic]”. This encouraged others to post further reviews and comments related to Kirk (and not the game). “I even mentioned it to Steam support,” Ethan says, “how it stemmed from that curator list, but they weren’t interested.” Instead, Steam support claimed that “off-topic” constituted “a recipe for cookies, or something completely unrelated to video games that is clearly trolling.” Reviews referencing Kirk, including one reading simply “RIP Charlie Kirk” alongside a negative rating, did not fit that criteria according to Steam; all remain in place today.

Elsewhere, campaigns chase games that include trans or LGBTQ+ characters. A trans developer included on a curation list titled “NO WOKE” cites frequent discussion threads, including one that referred to them as a “transvestite” and asked whether their game included “woke faggotry.” Plane Toast’s Émi Lefèvre points to reviews and discussions of Caravan SandWitch, a sci-fi action-adventure and driving game, which frequently approach its queer characters negatively. “Too LBGTQ [sic] … There is no future or continuation for these sad gays and lesbians,” reads one among many that remain visible on the game’s store page.

“For sure, the ‘anti-woke’ curators brought insincere negative attention to the game,” Lefèvre says. “Valve’s refusal to moderate any of this is making Steam reviews and forums the battleground for some kind of culture war, and is making them unsafe for marginalised people and regular gamers trying to simply enjoy the game they bought.”

[–] SpikesOtherDog@ani.social 4 points 1 hour ago

I think player reviews should not include allegations of lying about being raped, transphobia, or political comments.