Earlier this month, an overtly racist game about whipping black slaves on a colonial homestead launched on Steam called Plantation Simulator, and despite pushback from critics and players alike, Valve remained silent. Then, last week, developer FzzyBzzy released an update that swapped all the black slaves for white women in pink bikinis, trolling the racists who flocked to buy it.
Reviews quickly tanked to 'Mostly Negative' as players kicked up a fuss that they'd been lied to. One side was calling for the game to be delisted because, despite being designed to troll racists, it was in itself a racist game, while the other called for its removal because it had lied to them. Valve, again, remained silent.
Jump ahead, however, and the game has finally been removed from sale on the Steam store, but it still has nothing to do with Valve. The decision to delist the game came from FzzyBzzy itself with no outside pressure. "Hello friends, lol >:3 We've decided to retire this game!" the announcement read. "We've [sic] think we have said what needed to be said. We saw the opportunities and took them :3 We are reaching out to Steam to take this game off the store page!! We do not know when they'll be able to address the request, but we hope it is soon!"
Players Are Now Publishing Guides On How To Play The Original Version
The page is still up (albeit with images of the women in bikinis, rather than the black slaves), but you can no longer purchase Plantation Simulator. In place of a buy button, there is a disclaimer that the game "is no longer available." However, the announcement is littered with racist comments and even guides on how to play the original version.
From start to finish, this whole scandal has reheated the debate around Steam's overly lax moderation. While it bowed to pressure from credit card companies over adult games, setting a worrying precedent for censorship, offensive content like Plantation Simulator ran unchecked even before the update, and despite mounting backlash and even direct requests for comment from Valve.
It has, unfortunately, been a problem for years. Furry games about having sex with Hitler remain on the platform, with Point Shop cosmetics that let you dress your profile up in Nazi imagery, with no comment from Valve. Even in a stripped-down state, designed to troll the racists, Plantation Simulator was baked in offensive imagery, and yet it was only delisted because the developer decided to of its own volition.
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