Indie developer faced calls for "cancellation" by LGBT activists, but ended up receiving free publicity instead
In mid-August, a controversy arose around the rogue sandbox game Soulash 2, linked to its romantic relationship system. Some gamers were displeased that characters of the same gender could not engage in romances.
Soulash 2
On August 15, a queer user on Discord with the nickname 2023 Subaru Impreza asked the author of Soulash 2, Artur Śmiarowski, to add same-gender relationships to the game. The developer refused. He politely explained that he currently lacks the strength, desire, and resources to expand the existing system [Śmiarowski is working on Soulash 2 solo — ed. note]. Furthermore, the essence of relationships in Soulash 2 is to have children and continue the lineage, and same-gender relationships contradict this. Śmiarowski stressed that he might change his mind in the future, but for now, he has no intention of addressing this.
The player's request gained the attention of other gamers. They supported it and pointed out that there are many ways to implement the idea. For example, allowing adoption of children in the game. The discussion heated up, and Śmiarowski even created a separate channel on Discord, but after a week he stated that the topic had exhausted itself — he still believes the modification would not improve the game, only require additional resources.
As a result, dissatisfied players started actively downrating the game, criticizing Śmiarowski in reviews. They also organized a protest on Reddit.
Amid the review-bombing, Śmiarowski wrote an angry post on X:
“My grandparents survived the Nazis, my parents lived under communism, I lived under religious oppression since age ten, and now some spoiled brats think I'll kneel before their rainbow flag. I already have a flag I'm proud of,” said the developer, attaching a picture of the Polish flag, where he's from.
Some users decided to support Śmiarowski. They managed to improve the Steam rating of Soulash 2, making it “Very Positive” again. Additionally, the game's sales increased.
Recently, Śmiarowski summarized the scandal:
- 3,500 copies of Soulash 2 were sold in a week — which is usually what Śmiarowski sells in two months;
- 12,700 people added the game to their wishlist;
- the game's online player count on Steam nearly doubled over the weekend — from 163 players on Thursday to 237 on Sunday;
- more than 10,000 people subscribed to the developer on X.
“Rainbow extremists have organized the most effective advertising campaign for my game. I hope this inspires other developers to never again allow a bunch of spoiled kids to bully them in their own communities,” wrote Śmiarowski on X.
Soulash 2 was released in early access on Steam on December 4, 2023. As of July 2024, its sales have exceeded 20,000 copies.
*The international LGBT movement is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia.
