Abubakar Salim, a British actor known for playing Father in Raised by Wolves and Alyn of Hull in House of the Dragon has spoken about the online hate he recieved after releasing a video game inspired by grief.
Although Salim has been vocal about the harassment he and his team recieved after releasing Tales of Kenzera: Zau– a game about grief at the death of his father – he has now also spoken to the BBC about the experience. “We received quite – especially on my side – weird messages and comments: racially targeted and harassed,” he said.
“It’s truly about this human emotion of grief, my journey from losing my father… For the narrative to then be about an ‘agenda to force diversity’ tarnishes the message,” Salim explained. He is referring to a recent culture war stoked by a small but loud minority of gamers who believe diversity is being forced into games and subsequently ruining them.
In recent months, many female journalists have been the target of hate, as well as consultancy company Sweet Baby Inc, and games like Tales of Kenzera: Zau. Though Salim is likely most famous for his TV roles, he’s also portrayed video game characters. Most notably, the voice of Bayek in Assassin’s Creed: Origins.
Unfortunately, the video game studio he founded, Surgent Studios, announced it was making layoffs last week. “It’s a reflection of the accessibility of funding and the systemic nature of how to get it through. You have to wrestle with this ever-changing marketing space. That’s the reality of the games industry,” Salim said.
In other news, people who have been long-awaiting BioShock 4 will be pleased to learn that the development team over at Cloud Chamber is “ramping up” production of the game.