First case in point, Czech Games Edition (CGE) a game publisher famous for titles such as Codename or the critically acclaimed SETI, just published a Harry Potter-themed version of its flagship game, Codename. It's worth pointing out that the franchise has been mired in controversy because of the transphobic views of its creator, J.K. Rowling, and her funding of anti-trans organizations. The announcement of the game generated immediate backlash and calls for boycotts stating that supporting the Harry Potter brand indirectly supports Rowling's views. CGE initially issued a statement asking for "care, empathy, and respect" which was roundly ridiculed for going out of its way to avoid mentioning Harry Potter or JK Rowling by name, or the issue itself. Facing continued pressure, they later announced they would donate 100% of the profits from the game to charities supporting trans individuals, and ensure the donation amount is equal to or greater than the licensing fee paid to use the Harry Potter brand. No further detail as to how this would be achieved was provided, and the game is still being boycotted by many prominent reviewers.
The other parallel controversy came from another recent release: Ace of Spades by the publisher Devir Games. The theme is some sort of hell-ish wild west, freely inspired from the movie Django Unchained, per the publisher. Where the game took a turn is in its racially loaded and insensitive depiction of slavery, which somehow made it past playtesting and quality insurance without raising any red flags. The disturbing images triggered an overwhelming response from the community, exemplified by posts such as this one on BoardGameGeek. Devir swiftly responded in the next 24h with its own post, acknowledging its mistake and committing to a global recall of units currently on sale, replacement of the offensive artwork at no charge, and the review of its own internal processes.
In the wake of the twin controversy, the Tabletop Game Designers Association, a professional organization created last year by Elizabeth Hargrave (designer of Wingspan), Geoff Engelstein (Space Cadets creator) and Sen-Foong Lim (designer of Mind MGMT) to advocate for designers in North America, called on all publishers to use cultural consultants moving forward.
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