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Voidpoint, the developer of Ion Fury, has apologised after sexist and transphobic comments were shared by some of its team in the company’s official Discord. The issue was further compounded when a ResetEra user shared details of an in-game room that displayed homophobic language, too.
At first, the developer maintained, by way of its official Twitter account, that the comments had been taken out of context, stating “the crop tool in Photoshop has always been just as much about what you are removing as what you are keeping”.
“It has come to our attention Voidpoint, the developers of Ion Fury, have been accused of making transphobic and misogynistic statements,” said a statement from 3D Realms boss, Mike Nielsen, Ion fury’s publisher. “Under current leadership, 3D Realms has taken pride empowering marginalised groups, as evident by our strong female protagonist Shelly ‘Bombshell’ Harrison and the makeup of our team.
“Moving forward all of 3D Realms’ contracts will include terms which would allow us to sever relationships if a contractor does not abide by our zero-tolerance policy for hate speech.”
Voidpoint co-founders Evan Ramos and Richard Gobeille also responded to Eurogamer‘s request for a statement, apologising for the comments and pledging to add “mandatory sensitivity training” for all employees and contractors, as well as donating $10,000 from Ion Fury’s release day proceeds to The Trevor Project, an American non-profit organisation that works to prevent suicide in the LGBTQ+ community.
“Members of Voidpoint’s Ion Fury team have made sexist and transphobic comments, and included homophobic language in Ion Fury. We recognise these statements are insensitive, unacceptable, and counterproductive to causes of equality. We unequivocally apologise both for these comments and language as well as for any pain they have caused the gaming community, particularly women and members of the LGBTQ community. We take full responsibility for any damage that has been done to the relationships we’ve worked so hard to build.
“Moving forward, Voidpoint will institute a zero-tolerance policy for this type of language and all employees and contractors will undergo mandatory sensitivity training. As part of our efforts to contribute to the work that must be done to further support these communities, we are donating $10,000 from Ion Fury’s release day proceeds to The Trevor Project. We are also patching Ion Fury ASAP to remove all unacceptable language.”
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