Gamergate controversy

The Gamergate controversy is a popular nickname for a controversy about women and video games as well as ethics in video game journalism.

History

Zoë Quinn designed a video game called Depression Quest about a person who struggles with depression. Several video game journalists praised the game while others said that it was too dark to be a good game. People in the second group claimed that the only reason Quinn’s game was popular was because of people who cared more about feminism and political correctness than about video games. Then, Quinn’s ex-boyfriend started a blog wherein he falsely accused her of having had sex with a male video game journalist in exchange for good reviews. That journalist pointed out that he had never reviewed the game at all and argued that the accusation made no sense. After that a lot of people still started to not only criticize, but also bullying Zoe Quinn on the Internet, including threats of murder, rape or commit other kinds of violence against Quinn. When people came to Quinn’s defense and said that the attacks against Quinn were proof of sexism against video game designers who were not male, they were accused of being social justice warriors (SJWs). Milo Yiannopoulos supported Quinn’s attackers on Breitbart and said that anybody who did not support her attackers was being too politically correct.