Backlash Leads Developer to Go Silent, Speed-Running Controversies Revealed, & Charity Bundles Raise Money for Abortion Rights

GDQ speedrunner banned after admitting run was faked
A speedrunner from the recent Summer Games Done Quick 2022 event has admitted he faked part of his run. Mekarazium, a Russian speedrunner, has admitted that a recent run of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance’s Blade Wolf DLC was faked using pre-recorded footage. The confession came after several views noticed strange things about the run, including an absence of keyboard sounds. “I’ve done an actual bad thing, and I shouldn’t have done this on the event…I acted selfishly and I haven’t put more time thinking about others. I am sorry for doing the thing I’ve done. Truly.”

GDQ has now removed the run from their Youtube channel as well as banning Mekarazium from all future events. As well they released the following statement: This is absolutely unacceptable and attempts to undermine the integrity of the speedrunning community that we love and support. The exact result they desired was unclear from the document, but it is clear that they believed we would not be willing to speak out about their behavior. However, we believe it is in the community’s best interests to know why this run was removed by GDQ. We have removed Mekazarium’s runs from our YouTube archive and will not permit him to run in the future.”

Return to Monkey Island creator will no longer talk about the game following abuse
Recently we were shown a trailer for Return to Monkey Island, a follow-up to the first and second Monkey Island games headed up by Ron Gilbert. Unfortunately, the trailer spurred a great level of negative conversation leading him to announce he would no longer discuss the game online. Much of the negative comments came from people who disliked the games new art direction – a slightly cartoony departure from its predecessor’s style. Ron Gilbert had previously defended the game’s new look saying, “Return to Monkey Island may not be the art style you wanted or were expecting but it’s the art style I wanted”, but it was not enough.

“I’m shutting down comments,” Ron Gilbert said “People are just being mean and I’m having to delete personal attack comments. It’s an amazing game and everyone on the team is very proud of it. Play it or don’t play it but don’t ruin it for everyone else. I won’t be posting anymore about the game. The joy of sharing has been driven from me.” He finished off with saying “Whatever you want Monkey Island to be, I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that making this a chore rather than a joy for the devs is the quickest way to ensure it won’t be anything for anybody.”

itch.io has launched a bundle for abortion funds
Itch.io has created another in its long line of charity bundles supporting topical causes. So far, the bundle has raised almost $200,000 for abortion funds. The bundle contains over 750 games from over 600 creators available for a minimum donation of $10. Estimated value is over $3k.

The bundle hopes to provide support for those affected by the recent overturning of Roe V Wade in America. The page reads: “100 percent of the proceeds from this bundle will go to the National Network for Abortion Fund’s Collective Power Fund, which moves money directly to abortion funds across 20+ US states, with a particular focus on the South and Midwest (where it is often most difficult to get access to abortions),”’

And that’s all, this week, in gaming news!