A community manager of Ready or Not has been removed from their position over an online comment made in the wake of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting. Void Interactive, the publisher and developer of Ready or Not, has confirmed the firing and states that the views expressed by the former community manager do not reflect those of the company.
During the debate portion of a public speaking event at Utah Valley University on September 10, Kirk was struck in the neck by a single bullet. He was rushed to a local hospital but pronounced dead following an attempt at a life-saving surgery. The high-profile public killing lit a massive spark in the worlds of politics and mass media, with concerns over gun violence and the right to free speech brought to the forefront.
While the gaming world has already been wrapped up in the shooting due to a Helldivers 2 stratagem code found on a shell casing, the particular incident that led to the termination of the tactical FPS game’s community manager, who is known online only as Kaminsky, apparently stems from a comment they made via the game’s official Discord server. After one user suggested Kirk’s name should be included in the Discord server’s filtered word list, presumably to keep conversations about the game from straying into the political sphere, screenshots of the exchange that have been shared on Twitter show Kaminsky stating that they had “just added” Kirk’s name to the list. Kaminsky went on to say that they had just been discussing Kirk’s killing with a roommate, adding, “Let me just say this: Nothing of value was lost.” An official community update on the game’s Steam page omits Kaminsky’s name but confirms that Void Interactive has ended its partnership with them, stating, “Our focus remains on fostering a respectful and professional community around Ready or Not.”
Kirk’s death has had other impacts across media, with journalists from several national outlets stating they have been terminated after their comments were deemed inappropriate by their employers. Additionally, late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show was pulled from the air after a monologue in which he criticized members of the MAGA movement for, in his words, “finger-pointing” at the left over Kirk’s death. Meanwhile, Roblox has removed multiple games citing Kirk’s assassination.
Kaminsky is not the only professional individual in the video game community to lose their job after making comments about Kirk’s death, either. About a week ago, Ghost of Yotei senior character artist Drew Harrison announced she had been fired by Sucker Punch Productions over a similar incident on Bluesky, after she joked about hoping the killer was named Mario, alluding that it would pair thematically with United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s alleged murderer, Luigi Mangione.
December 13, 2023
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Void Interactive
Void Interactive
