Gladiator sim Domina has been delisted from Steam, after the developer used the game’s patch notes to spread transphobic vitriol.
In August, Domina creator Nicholas John Leonhard Gorissen was banned from their own game’s community forum for sending abusive messages to players and flagging reviews as fraud – specifically, reviews that Valve already said were legitimate.
Shortly after, Gorissen used Domina‘s patch notes to platform a transphobic rant that targeted trans streamer Keffals and the wider trans community.
That appears to have been the last straw for Valve, as the company has since de-listed Domina from Steam. As posted by Gorissen, the following message from Valve explains why the developer was banned:
“A recent announcement posted to the Domina community hub includes insults targeting another person. We also notice that you are clearing a number of reported posts in your hub containing various rule violations.”
“We made it clear in our last communication that future violations of our rules and guidelines line this would jeopardise our future relationship,” continued the ban message. “With that in mind, we are ending our business relationship with Dolphin Barn Incorporated and removing all associated products from sale.”
As Valve has previously said that it will only remove games if they are “illegal, or straight up trolling,” and it’s the latter category that Domina appears to have fallen under.
It isn’t the first time that Dolphin Barn has invited controversy – beyond their recent transphobic tirade, the developer made headlines in 2021 for using the game’s patch notes to spread anti-mask rhetoric.
In other gaming news, Pokimane has shared that she is stepping back from the “rat race” of Twitch streaming. Citing too much pressure and a “hyper-competitive” environment and, Pokimane will instead focus more on their Instagram and TikTok channels.
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