Gamer Gate controversy (#Gamergate)

Gamer Gate was a controversy that allegedly began following the feedback of Zoe Quinn’s free game, Depression Quest. One of Zoe’s ex-boyfriends released a blog post that accused Zoe of having a manipulative personality, as well as cheating on him multiple times. One of the men that Zoe allegedly had relations with was a game journalist for Kotaku. After the blog post, the gamer gate controversy snowballed by readers going onto online forums (e.g. twitter, reddit, 4chan) and claiming that there was a large breach of journalistic ethical integrity in gaming. Many news outlets, including washington post and Gawker, have labelled the gamer gate movement as largely misguided and attacking in nature towards various female game developers and writers.

Original Twitter #GameGate

Media Coverage/Original Tweets:

• Initial blog from Zoe’s former boyfriend: The Zoe Post

• Jay Hathaway on Gawker: Oct 10, 2014: What is Gamergate, and Why? An Explainer for Non-Geeks

• Caitlin Dewey on the Washington Post: Oct 14, 2014: The only guide to Gamergate you will ever need to read

• Jordan Erica Webber on The Guardian: Oct 16, 2017: Anita Sarkeesian: 'It's frustrating to be known as the woman who survived #Gamergate'

• Reddit thread on /r/OutOfTheLoop: Spet 4, 2014: What is GamerGate?

• Erik Kain on Forbes: Sept 4, 2014: GamerGate: A Closer Look At The Controversy Sweeping Video Games

Intel pulls ads from Gamasutra amongst Gamer Gate Controversy

On Thursday, October 2nd, 2018, Intel pulled its ads from Gamasutra, a popular video game news site, after Gamasutra published opinion pieces critical of the Gamer movement. Multiple sources indicated that this was in direct response to the ongoing Gamer Gate controversy. One particular opinion piece posted by Leigh Alexander seemed to be at the core of why Intel removed its ads. Amongst the controversy, Intel pledged $300 million to reinforce women and minority workers in the game industry. However, Intel did reinstate their advertisements on Gamasutra roughly a month after they were pulled.

Media Coverage/Original Posts:

• Leigh Alexander on Gamasutra: Aug 28, 2014: ‘Gamers’ don’t have to be your audience. ‘Gamers’ are over

• Heather Kelly on CNN: Oct 3, 2014: Intel pulls ads over sexism in video game drama

• Owen Good on Polygon: Oct 4, 2014: Intel issues apology regarding its advertising and 'GamerGate'

• Ian Douglas on Telegraph: Nov 14, 2014: Intel reinstates advertising on Gamasutra after 'Gamergate' campaign

• Michael McWhertor on Polygon: Jan 6, 2015: Intel pledges $300M to bolster women, minority workforce in wake of GamerGate