Tenderloin ‘zombie shooter’ game shut down by creator after backlash over depiction of homeless
The maker of a “zombie shooter” videogame set in San Francisco's Tenderloin, shown in 2022, has pulled the game from the internet and apologized for its depictions of people in the neighborhood.
TL;DR
- Developer Pierre-Louis Biojout shut down his "zombie shooter" game, "Tenderloin Night Shift," following backlash.
- Critics argued the game depicted homeless people as monsters to be killed.
- Biojout apologized, citing poor judgment, and removed the game and promotional content.
- He refunded advertisers and donated the game's total revenue (over $300) to Delancey Street, a nonprofit supporting substance abusers, the homeless, and ex-convicts.
- The game was created in a weekend using OpenAI's Codex and included local San Francisco markers.
- City officials, including Supervisor Bilal Mahmood and a spokesperson for the city attorney's office, condemned the game as dehumanizing and abhorrent.