So this Gamergate business appears to be still rumbling along. Ostensibly it’s about ethics in gaming journalism, and I’m sure that’s what some followers believed. Yet the movement is heavily tainted with reactionary anti-feminist attitudes, sometimes to the extent of threats and harassment. It’s getting pretty ugly out there, and a couple of GG’s prominent targets have apparently even left their homes in fear.

We think it should go without saying, but, based on recent events, it obviously doesn’t, so we’ll say it: games are for everyone, and women belong in gaming. They’re playing Mass Effect and the latest Call of Duty along with everyone else. What’s more, they shouldn’t have to lay low, avoid causing a fuss, and live with problems like sexist attitudes or overtly sexualised female characters. It’s fair game to challenge traditional attitudes about what is and isn’t appropriate in gaming. So, we should not be getting upset over feminist critiques. There seems to be some sort of feminists vs gamers narrative being set up, which is fairly dumb. It’s not a battle, it’s about improving gaming.

I was unsure whether we should really comment, we’re generally not ones to get topical here. But my fear is, to say nothing is to give tacit approval to awful things said and done in the name of ‘gamers’. We here are a part of gaming culture on the internet, even if we’re the most tiny of remote backwaters. So, we feel we should speak up. We’re really not interested in anything Gamergate has to say, we think it’s something without merit, and nothing more than an excuse to voice destructive prejudices.

If people really want to monitor the relationship between game developers and journalists, then sure, go for it. But it would be best to start again, under a new banner, because this one now stands for something else.