Domina, a game created by “Dolphin Barn Inc.”, has been removed from Steam after the developer included transphobic hate comments in the game’s most recent patch notes. The game is no longer available on Steam. ‘purchase.
The Domina developer, who goes by the name “Nicholas”, has been completely banned from the Steam platform, a digital marketplace for video games. Steam removed Nicholas’ company Dolphin Barn Inc. from the platform over harassment of Steam users and transphobic comments.
First spotted by ResetEra user Zoop in the latest round of patch notes, Nicholas announced a name change from “Domina” to “Dominus”, demanding that users “respect our pronouns” and demanding that players avoid “naming” the game. A “dead name” is the name given to a transgender person at birth, but not the name they choose to have after transitioning. Dead names are often used to harass transgender people.
Nicholas has continued to use the patch notes as a way to spit vile transphobic comments that aren’t suitable for print. The comments included targeted shootings at Keffals, a streamer who was recently forced into hiding after her hotel was doxxed by a hate site.
Nicholas has also been banned from Twitter, following a series of transphobic comments towards video game personality and professional wrestler Stephanie Sterling. Nicholas (and the company Dolphin Barn) recently became known for posting patch notes for Domina that included anti-mask and anti-vaccine rhetoric.
“TAKE OFF THE MASKS **** – Next time you’re at the grocery store, try showing your face to a woman. Be confident, don’t be afraid of LIES – you might have a girlfriend. Women love confidence. Women don’t like guys who cover their face in fear. What are you scared of? Getting laid? Grow up,” the patch notes read. Domina received widespread negative attention, with the game’s Steam status going “extremely negative” before it was delisted (Thanks, Kotaku.)
Transphobia has been at the forefront of the game for a few years. Keffals, a Twitch streamer and activist, recently organized a campaign to fight a hate site called Kiwifarms. The website is directly blamed for killing transgender and non-binary individuals through targeted harassment.
Written by Junior Miyai on behalf of GLHF.
Comments are closed.