Gaming Industry DEI Controversy and Corporate Pullback (2024-2026)

1. DEI Consulting Firms in Gaming

Sweet Baby Inc.

Founded: Montreal, Canada. Co-founded by Kim Belair and David Bedard, both former Ubisoft developers.

Services: Narrative development and consultation. Specifically: character arc development, dialogue writing, sensitivity reading, “banter” scripting, cultural/authenticity consultation, and connecting studios with consultants for stories involving marginalised characters. Source: Kotaku, “Sweet Baby Inc. Doesn’t Do What Some Gamers Think It Does,” March 2024 Source: CBC Radio, “Why a Montreal video game consulting studio is at the centre of an online anti-diversity storm,” March 2024

Known credits (confirmed):

• God of War: Ragnarok (narrative/character consultation, representation focus)
• Alan Wake II (character arc, voices, sensitivity reading)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (story consultation)
• Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (banter, cutscenes)
• Goodbye Volcano High (narrative, writing, character voices, plot)
• Unknown 9: Awakening
• Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn

Source: Kotaku, March 2024 Source: Know Your Meme, “Sweet Baby Inc Detected Controversy”

Fee structure: Not publicly disclosed. An unverified rumour circulated on Weibo c. 2020 alleging $7 million fees and “blackmail” of a development company; this was rejected by industry sources and remains unsubstantiated. Source: Sweet Baby Inc. Wikipedia article

The GDC “Terrify Them” talk (2019): At GDC 2019, in a panel titled “Now You See Me: Representation as Innovation,” Kim Belair advised attendees: “If they don’t see the value in what you’re asking for when you ask for consultancy, when you ask for research: go have a coffee with your marketing team and just terrify them with the possibility if they don’t give you what you want.” This clip became a central exhibit for critics who characterised consulting firms as operating through institutional pressure rather than merit. Source: GDC Vault, “Now You See Me: Representation as Innovation” Source: Niche Gamer, “Sweet Baby CEO: ’terrify them’ if game devs don’t push diversity”

Sweet Baby Inc Detected (Steam curator group): Created February 2024 by a Steam user to catalogue games crediting SBI. By April 2024 had over 355,000 followers, making it the sixth most-followed Steam Curator Group. SBI employees drew attention to the group and attempted to have it removed, which amplified the controversy. Source: The Shortcut, “Sweet Baby Inc. detected has surpassed 300,000 followers on Steam” Source: Sweet Baby Inc. Wikipedia

Sony reportedly drops SBI (April 2025): According to a Gothic Therapy insider report, Sony Interactive Entertainment cancelled contracts with Sweet Baby Inc. and terminated several in-development projects with SBI involvement. Source: That Park Place, “Sweet Baby Inc Reportedly Dropped by Sony,” April 2025

Other Consulting Firms

• Black Girl Gamers — Consulting services for gaming, FMCG, and TV/Film industries. Source: Black Girl Gamers Consultancy page
• AbleGamers / SpecialEffect — Accessibility consultants working directly with developers (distinct from narrative DEI consulting).
• Lionbridge — Localisation and QA services; sometimes conflated with DEI consulting but primarily a translation/testing firm.

2. The Commercial Failures

Games with SBI/DEI consulting credits that underperformed

Concord (Sony/Firewalk Studios, August 2024)

• Peak Steam players: Never exceeded 700 concurrent. One week post-launch: 162 concurrent.
• Estimated sales: ~25,000 units total (10,000 Steam, 15,000 PlayStation).
• Shutdown: Sony pulled it from sale on September 3, 2024 — two weeks after launch. Servers went offline September 6. Full refunds issued.
• Studio closure: Firewalk Studios shut down October 29, 2024.
• Development cost: Estimated at $200+ million over eight years.
• Contributing factors (per industry analysis): Failure to differentiate from free-to-play competitors (Overwatch, Apex Legends); full-price model in a F2P genre; generic character roster; outdated feel after eight-year development cycle.

Source: Concord Wikipedia article Source: Game World Observer, “Sony pulls Concord from sale,” September 2024 Source: Kotaku, “Sony’s Latest Big Game, Concord, Is Flopping”

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (Warner Bros./Rocksteady, January 2024)

• Financial impact: Contributed to a $200 million revenue hit to Warner Bros.’s games division.
• Steam player trajectory: ~13,500 peak at launch; under 900 by February 23.
• CEO statement: WBD CEO David Zaslav called sales “disappointing.”
• Development time: Seven years.
• SBI involvement: Credited for “banter” and cutscene work.

Source: Bloomberg, “‘Suicide Squad,’ Warner Bros.’s $200 Million Flop, Haunts the Gaming Industry,” June 2024 Source: Checkpoint Gaming, “Warner Bros admits Suicide Squad failure contributed to $200M loss,” May 2024

Dragon Age: The Veilguard (EA/BioWare, October 2024)

• Players: ~1.5 million in the first two months.
• Steam peak concurrent: 89,418 (November 3, 2024).
• Steam estimated sales: ~510,000 copies by mid-November 2024.
• EA assessment: Down nearly 50% below internal expectations.
• Break-even estimate: 4-5 million units needed.
• Comparison: Dragon Age: Inquisition lifetime sales exceeded 12 million.
• Post-launch: No DLC or post-launch content planned.

Source: Game World Observer, “How Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s 1.5 million players compare,” January 2025 Source: Gameshub, “Dragon Age: The Veilguard breaks records for EA and BioWare”

Unknown 9: Awakening (Bandai Namco/Reflector Entertainment, October 2024)

• Steam peak players: 285.
• Developer statement: Reflector Entertainment publicly admitted the game was a “failure.”
• Consequences: 18% workforce laid off within a month; planned sequels cancelled; next original project cancelled.
• SBI involvement: Credited.

Source: PC Gamer, “Unknown 9: Awakening was a ‘failure,’ says developer,” 2024 Source: Bounding Into Comics, “Reflector Entertainment Admits Sweet Baby Inc.-Influenced ‘Unknown 9: Awakening’ Was A ‘Failure’”

Dustborn (Red Thread Games/Quantic Dream, August 2024)

• Steam all-time peak: 83 concurrent players.
• Metacritic: Mixed/average. 47% of critics recommended (OpenCritic).
• Developer response: Director Ragnar Tornquist said sales “exceeded those reported online” but “fallen below the studio’s internal short-term expectations.”

Source: Dustborn Wikipedia article Source: That Park Place, “Dustborn Has Abysmal Player Numbers on Release Day”

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn (A44/Kepler Interactive, 2024)

• Steam concurrent: Could not surpass 500 active players.
• SBI involvement: Credited, though community noted limited visible DEI content in the game itself.

Source: Steam community discussions

Games with SBI/DEI consulting credits that SUCCEEDED commercially

God of War: Ragnarok (Sony/Santa Monica Studio, November 2022)

• Sales: 5.1 million units in first week. 11 million in first 10 weeks. 15 million by November 2023.
• Fastest-selling first-party PlayStation launch game at time of release.
• SBI involvement: Narrative and character consultation with representation focus.

Source: VGChartz, “God of War Ragnarok Tops 15 Million Units Sold” Source: Video Games Chronicle, “Sony says God of War Ragnarok has sold 11 million copies in 3 months”

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Sony/Insomniac Games, October 2023)

• Sales: 10 million by February 2024. 11 million by May 2024. Estimated 16 million PS5 + 700K Steam by 2025.
• Fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game at time of release.
• SBI involvement: Story consultation credited.

Source: Push Square, “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Swings 11 Million Sales,” May 2024

Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment, October 2023)

• Sales: 1.3 million by February 2024. Over 2 million by end of 2024.
• Remedy’s fastest-selling game. Development/marketing costs recouped; now earning royalties.
• SBI involvement: Character arc, voices, sensitivity reading.
• Awards: Multiple GOTY nominations.

Source: Gematsu, “Alan Wake II sales top 1.8 million,” November 2024 Source: VGChartz, “Alan Wake 2 Sales Top 2 Million Units”

3. The Comparison Case: Hogwarts Legacy

• Sales: 12 million units in first two weeks (February 2023). 22 million in 2023. 34 million lifetime by March 2025. Over 40 million confirmed by WB Games.
• Revenue: $850 million in first two weeks. Over $1 billion lifetime.
• Best-selling game worldwide in 2023.
• Context: Released amid significant boycott campaigns related to J.K. Rowling’s public statements on transgender issues. The boycott had no measurable impact on sales.
• No known DEI consulting credits.

Source: Variety, “‘Hogwarts Legacy’ Sold 22 Million Copies in 2023,” 2024 Source: VGChartz, “Hogwarts Legacy Sales Top 40 Million Units” Source: Variety, “Hogwarts Legacy Sales: $850 Million, 12 Million Units in First 2 Weeks,” March 2023

4. Corporate Retreat from DEI (2024-2026)

Broader tech industry timeline

The corporate DEI pullback accelerated in January 2025 following President Trump’s executive orders targeting “illegal DEI preferences” in federal agencies and allowing lawsuits against companies using identity in hiring.

Meta (January 2025): Terminated DEI programs entirely. Eliminated the company’s DEI team, ended the “Diverse Slate Approach” to hiring, scrapped equity and inclusion training, and pivoted supplier diversity to “small and medium businesses” focus. Source: Fortune, “Fortune 500 companies like Meta and Target are rolling back DEI,” February 2025

Google: Cut DEI funding, removed DEI language from website, reassigned or reduced diversity roles. Source: Allwork.space, “Google, Meta, And Microsoft Quietly End Diversity Reporting,” November 2025

Amazon: Winding down DEI policies after internal effectiveness review. Memo from senior HR executive Candi Castleberry obtained by CNBC. Source: Diversity.com, “Corporate DEI in Crisis? Walmart, Amazon, and Other Giants Scaling Back”

Microsoft: Ended diversity reporting alongside Google and Meta. Source: Allwork.space, November 2025

Other companies dropping DEI: Walmart, McDonald’s, Target, Harley-Davidson, Ford, Jack Daniel’s (parent Brown-Forman). Source: Axios, “Which companies are rolling back DEI and which are standing firm,” January 2025 Source: TechCrunch, “Here are all the tech companies rolling back DEI or still committed,” April 2025

Gaming industry specifically

Riot Games: Notably renewed its DEI partnership as other brands pulled away, described as a “vote of confidence.” Source: Digiday, “Why Riot Games is leaning into DEI as other brands pull away”

Sony (reported April 2025): Reportedly cancelled SBI contracts and terminated projects with SBI involvement. Unconfirmed by Sony directly. Source: That Park Place, April 2025

5. The Stellar Blade / Shift Up Contrast

Stellar Blade (Shift Up, April 2024)

• Sales: Estimated 6.1 million units (3.7 million PS5, 2.4 million Steam) as of January 2026.
• Revenue impact: Shift Up reached record revenue of 219.8 billion won ($151.4 million) in 2024, up 30.4% YoY. Operating profit 148.58 billion won ($102.3 million), up 33.8%.
• Stellar Blade royalties: $43 million in 2024.
• Launch performance: Best-selling game in North America in April 2024. Best-selling new release in Japan for its launch period.

Source: KitGuru, “Analysts claim Stellar Blade has sold over 6 million copies” Source: Game World Observer, “Shift Up reports record revenue in 2024,” February 2025 Source: Gaming Bolt, “Stellar Blade Made Shift Up $43 Million in 2024”

The Censorship Controversy

A day-one patch modified some costume designs (lace added to cover cleavage on a bunny swimsuit; hip coverage adjustments). Players accused Sony of censorship. Shift Up CEO Kim Hyeong-tae stated the changes were intentional artistic refinements, not censorship: “Just because the costumes are vulgar doesn’t necessarily mean they’re good.” Shift Up later quietly restored uncensored costume options in subsequent patches.

Source: GamesRadar+, “Stellar Blade studio head says outfit redesigns were intentional, not censorship” Source: Push Square, “Stellar Blade PS5 Quietly Adds Uncensored New Costumes in Controversy Aftermath,” May 2024

Design philosophy contrast

Shift Up (Korean) produced a visually striking action game with unapologetic character design, targeting a mass-market audience comfortable with anime/manga aesthetics. The game’s commercial success was cited by critics of Western DEI-influenced design as evidence that audiences prefer games designed to appeal broadly rather than to navigate sensitivity frameworks.

6. Ubisoft: The Case Study

Star Wars Outlaws (August 2024)

• Launch sales: ~800,000 units by end of August. ~1 million in first month.
• UK retail launch: 55% lower than Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
• Projections revised: JP Morgan cut forecast from 7.5 million to 5.5 million units (through March 2025).
• CEO statement (July 2025): Yves Guillemot said the game “did not reach sales targets,” attributing shortfall to the Star Wars brand being “in a bit of choppy waters” and the game needing more polish.

Source: Insider Gaming, “Star Wars Outlaws Has Sold Just 1 Million Copies In The Month Since It Launched” Source: Neowin, “Ubisoft delays Assassin’s Creed Shadows; admits Star Wars Outlaws had lower initial sales”

Assassin’s Creed Shadows / Yasuke Controversy

• Announced May 2024 with trailer featuring two protagonists: Fujibayashi Naoe (kunoichi) and Yasuke (African historical figure in service to Oda Nobunaga).
• Controversy: Japanese fans and others objected to portraying Yasuke as a samurai protagonist, arguing limited historical evidence for his samurai status. A petition garnered over 94,000 signatures calling for the game’s cancellation.
• Delayed: From November 15, 2024 to February 14, 2025.
• Reports: The delay was partly to address historical accuracy concerns and scale back Yasuke’s role.
• Ubisoft’s position: “Our intention with Shadows, as with other games in the AC series, is not to present factual representations of history.”
• Post-launch (2025): Pre-orders reported in line with AC Odyssey (second best-selling in the series). Surpassed 5 million players by July 2025.

Source: Assassin’s Creed Shadows Wikipedia article Source: PC Games N, “Ubisoft issues statement about Assassin’s Creed Shadows and the controversy around Yasuke” Source: That Park Place, “Assassin’s Creed Shadows Delay Was to Scale Back Yasuke After Historical Backlash”

Stock Price Collapse

• All-time high: EUR 107.90 (Euronext) on July 18, 2018.
• 2024 decline: Stock dropped 54% in 2024.
• September 2024: Intraday collapse of ~20%, bringing market cap below EUR 1 billion. Stock at 10-year low.
• March 2026: Closing price ~$0.87 (UBSFY/OTC).
• Lost value: Company worth less than a twentieth of its 2018 peak.

Source: GamesRadar+, “As Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin’s Creed Shadows add to a 54% Ubisoft stock drop” Source: NotebookCheck, “Ubisoft shares fall to 10-year low after disappointing launch of Star Wars: Outlaws” Source: MacroTrends, “UbiSoft Entertainment Stock Price History”

Buyout / Restructuring

• October 2024: Bloomberg reported Tencent (9.2% stake) and the Guillemot family (20.5% stake) were considering a buyout to take Ubisoft private. Tencent also owned 49.9% of the Guillemot Brothers holding company.
• July 2025: Ubisoft announced a $1.25 billion deal with Tencent to spin off its most valuable franchises (Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Rainbow Six Siege) into a separate subsidiary.

Source: Bloomberg via CNBC, “Ubisoft shares skyrocket 33% after report Tencent, Guillemot family considering buyout,” October 2024 Source: Kotaku, “Ubisoft Is Getting A $1.25 Billion Bailout From Tencent,” July 2025

7. The “Audience Capture” Argument

The thesis

Studios allegedly designed products to satisfy critics, journalists, conference peers, and consulting partners rather than the paying customer base. This resulted in products optimised for praise from a small professional class but rejected by mass-market consumers.

Evidence supporting the thesis

• Metacritic/audience score divergence: Several 2024 titles received middling-to-positive critic scores but sharply negative user scores, suggesting a disconnect between professional reception and consumer satisfaction.
• Concord’s design choices: Eight years in development, reportedly shaped by internal cultural priorities, yet launched into a genre its target audience could play for free.
• Kim Belair’s GDC 2019 talk: The “terrify them” advice framed consulting as a defensive institutional pressure tool rather than a consumer-facing quality improvement.
• SBI Detected growth: 355,000+ followers suggests significant consumer sentiment against perceived consulting influence.
• Commercial outcomes: The cluster of SBI-credited titles that failed in 2024 (Concord, Suicide Squad, Unknown 9, Dustborn, Flintlock) versus the mass-market Asian titles that succeeded.

Evidence against the thesis

• SBI-credited successes: God of War Ragnarok (15M), Spider-Man 2 (16M+), Alan Wake II (2M+) all had SBI consulting credits and all succeeded commercially and critically.
• Multiple failure causes: Every failed title had severe non-DEI problems: wrong business model (Concord), bloated live-service design (Suicide Squad), generic gameplay (Unknown 9, Flintlock), niche appeal (Dustborn).
• Industry-wide downturn: 2024 saw massive layoffs, studio closures, and declining spending across the industry regardless of DEI involvement. Rising development costs, shifting consumer habits, and post-COVID spending normalisation affected all publishers.
• Selection bias: Critics highlight SBI-credited failures while ignoring SBI-credited successes. The “detected” list creates a confirmatory framework.
• Consulting is standard: Narrative consulting, sensitivity reading, and localisation review are industry-standard practices used on most AAA titles. SBI is one firm among many.

Source: Game Developer, “DEI is DOA: What’s really failing inside the game industry’s diversity efforts” Source: PC Gamer, “After 2024, it feels like the games industry is poised for a vibe shift,” January 2025

8. Player Metrics: Hard Data

The Asian contrast

Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science, August 2024)

• Sales: 10 million copies in 3 days. 18 million in first month. 25 million by January 2025.
• Revenue: Over $1 billion on Steam alone. Projected $2 billion total.
• Chinese studio’s first AAA release.
• No DEI consulting credits. No Western narrative consulting.

Source: GamesRadar+, “Black Myth: Wukong is ‘one of the fastest selling games of all time’” Source: Game World Observer, “Black Myth: Wukong tops 25 million copies sold,” January 2025 Source: Yicai Global, “Black Myth: Wukong Tops 20 Million Sales on Steam, Earning USD961 Million”

2024 Game of the Year nominees

All six nominees were from Asian studios or independent developers: Astro Bot (Japan/Asobi), Black Myth: Wukong (China/Game Science), Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (Japan/FromSoftware), Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Japan/Square Enix), Metaphor: ReFantazio (Japan/Atlus), Balatro (indie/UK).

Zero Western AAA studio nominees.

Source: ResetEra, “The Game Awards 2024 GOTY Nominees Revealed”

Sales comparison table (selected 2024 titles)

9. GDC and Industry Conference Shifts

GDC 2024-2025

• GDC 2024: Women in Games report described the conference as “more of the same” regarding diversity representation and inclusion efforts.
• GDC 2025 attendance concerns: Some developers skipped GDC 2025 due to economic uncertainty, industry shifts, and political climate. Specific concerns cited: federal DOGE cuts to diversity research funding; state-level DEI program restrictions; safety concerns for transgender and non-binary developers traveling to the US.
• Alternative conferences: Some LGBTQ+ developers opted for alternative events due to inclusivity concerns.

Source: Women in Games, “GDC 2024 REPORT: MORE OF THE SAME” Source: Reinout te Brake / Medium, “Why Some Developers Are Skipping GDC 2025”

Industry discourse shift

A 2023-era “Creative Freedom Coalition” formed, advocating for artistic integrity over mandates, asserting that “Games should be judged on merit, not social quotas.”

The broader tone shifted from 2022’s “DEI is essential and everyone agrees” to 2025’s polarised landscape where companies either doubled down (Riot Games) or quietly retreated (most major publishers).

10. Synthesis: What the Data Actually Shows

1. 2024 was catastrophic for Western AAA gaming regardless of DEI involvement. Layoffs, closures, and declining quality affected the entire sector.

2. DEI consulting is neither a death sentence nor irrelevant. God of War Ragnarok and Spider-Man 2 (SBI-consulted) sold 15M+ and 16M+ respectively. Concord and Unknown 9 (also in the SBI orbit) were disasters. The consulting credit is not predictive.

3. The real pattern is execution quality. Games that shipped mechanically sound, with clear market positioning, succeeded regardless of consulting credits. Games with bloated dev cycles, wrong business models, or saturated genres failed regardless.

4. Asian studios ate Western AAA’s lunch in 2024. The GOTY nominees tell the story: Japan, China, and Korea dominated. This is partly about DEI-related design philosophy but mostly about execution discipline, shorter dev cycles, and better genre targeting.

5. The corporate retreat is real but driven by politics, not gaming. The DEI pullback in tech was triggered by the Trump administration’s executive orders, not by Concord’s 25,000 sales. Gaming companies are following the broader corporate trend.

6. Consumer sentiment is real. 355,000 Steam users joining SBI Detected, plus the commercial performance gap, suggests a real audience signal that the industry press largely dismissed as bigotry.

7. The discourse is contaminated. Both sides cherry-pick. Neither “go woke go broke” nor “DEI criticism is just bigotry” survives contact with the full dataset.

Source URLs

• Sweet Baby Inc — Wikipedia
• Sweet Baby Inc. Website
• Steam Curator: Sweet Baby Inc Detected
• DEI Detected Website
• Black Myth: Wukong — Wikipedia
• Concord (video game) — Wikipedia
• The Game Awards 2024 — Wikipedia
• 2022-2025 Video Game Industry Layoffs — Wikipedia
• GDC 2024 Report: More of the Same — Women in Games
• Now You See Me: Representation as Innovation — GDC Vault