gamergate
Table of Contents
GamerGate
GamerGate was an unusual 2014 movement which purported itself to be about gaming journalist integrity, but its origins with the Wizardchan rivalry and the alleged cheating scandal1) would cast serious doubt on this narrative, on top of their former name being the Quinnspiracy.
Despite lacking any goals or structure, a copious amount of manipulation from early alt-right reactionaries to virtue signalling progressives would help shape the general consensus about this being a culture war, except they didn't do much and vanished by mid-2015.
This is meant to be an informative article.
As a bystander, I never really cared since it all looked 'embarrassing', but I felt obligated to give my two cents as there's a bit of nuance.
History
Prior to the movement, video game journalism had been under fire regarding ethics and integrity since the 2000s,2) an issue that persists into the modern day with all these memes about how gaming journalists are ironically bad at video games. However, we are getting way ahead of ourselves, so let's set the scene back to 2013, a time when the video game journalism industry was arguably starting to face a crossroads.3)4)
Fighting with Quinn's ego
In 2013, video game developer Zoë Quinn submitted Depression Quest to Steam Greenlight5) and the name caught the attention of Wizardchan's depressed virgins board, “Virgin9000” (/v9k/),6) on December 6, 2013.7) Quinn reacts poorly8)9) and claims to have been doxed,10)11) confusing the Wizardchan users,12)13) but the media ate this up,14)15)16) so the game was approved on January 8, 2014.17)18)19)
After fighting TFYC over a misconception,20) Quinn released Depression Quest on August 11, 2014,21) which was then followed up with Eron Gjoni's scandalous post on Quinn22) that got him swiftly banned from Penny Arcade23) and Something Awful.24)25) The news reached YouTube, so Quinn responds with DMCAs,26)27) and that's when 4chan and Reddit initiated the “Quinnspiracy”, retaliating by crowdfunding TYFC.28)
Mascots and ethical policies
The crowdfunding campaign would allow the two communities to design 'Vivian James' and 'Gilda Mars', who essentially became the movement's mascots.29) The overall drama somehow caught the attention of actor Adam Baldwin who coined 'GamerGate' on August 27, 201430) and users clung to it for legitimacy, despite his libertarian beliefs, then “gamers are dead” happened.31)32)33)34)35)36)37)38)39)40)
In response, the 'GamerGate' movement initiated '#NotYourShield',41)42) then began this huge mass mailing campaign to hurt the revenue of gaming journalism websites. Within this brief window, while aggressive, the movement did achieve their stated goal as conflicts of interest were silently addressed with outlets including Kotaku (Gawker),43) Polygon (Vox Media),44) Destructoid,45) and The Escapist.46)47)
GamerGate's slow death
Unfortunately, their movement's luck ran out, with 4chan and Reddit starting to suppress these discussions.48) Some of the 4chan users noticed and set up /burgers/ on 8chan on September 16, 2014,49) then 4chan had formally banned the subject on September 18, 2014,50) so 8chan decided to welcome them with open arms,51) as they decide to migrate from /burgers/ to the more aptly-named /gg/.
During this, we would get an unusual article from the far-right Zionist-owned Breitbart, where then-writer Milo Yiannopoulos insinuated that a 'GameJournoPros' mailing list was responsible for their negative press.52)53) Many would insist that this event would help shape the alt-right, with Brietbart's then-chairman Steve Bannon gloating about this54) before becoming a vital Trump 2016 strategist.55)
The following months were not so kind as /gg/ went up for adoption,56)57) users fled to /gamergate/,58) which was then raided around March 23, 2015, then the /gamergatehq/–/ggrevolt/ split killed its momentum, so it moved to a general thread on /v/. Aside from the Bollea v. Gawker lawsuit,59) there's really not much to say. Nowadays, /v/ has since left 8chan/8kun, currently residing at 8chan.moe's /v/.
Legacy
Overall, there's something to be said about how the internet shifted away from 'edgy suburbanite' culture, but there wasn't a clear counter to this development until GamerGate marked a clear divide, which would allow reactionaries to plant what became the alt-right movement.60)61)62) There's also the angle that these journalists manufactured the outrage in an effort to save a medium that was quickly being beat by YouTube.63)64)
However, churnalists often overestimate their impact, despite the alt-right caring very little for it,65) and will magically tie it to Pizzagate,66) QAnon,67)68) January 6th,69) Depp v. Heard,70) incels,71) etc. This essentially turns GamerGate into this empty buzzword to reprimand 'conservatism' with, killing any meaningful commentary about how social alienation feeds into post-truth politics.
Notes
- The term 'GamerGate' uses the '-gate' suffix, obviously referencing the Watergate scandal, but this is arguably a detriment since the '-gate' suffix is known for being incredibly overdone.72)73)74)
- As the joke goes, the movement has zero relation to the digital store or the type of worker ant.
- For some reason, GamerGate has the transliteration of 'ГеймерГейт' (GeymerGeyt) in Russian.
- I don't think politics is the place to solve, like, digital nudity or localizations in video games.
- In addition, I don't think the existence of pro-Depp stances during the Depp v. Heard trials can be tied to GamerGate, especially when you can find pro-Depp women, like, what's the correlation?
- Have you notice that I didn't need to mention Anita Sarkeesian or Brianna Wu in this article?
- Anita Sarkeesian has always been disliked by 4chan for her 'feminist' media critique series that may have been poorly researched, but her relevance is a bit exaggerated.
External links
- DeepFreeze - The ancient GamerGate resource, documenting news outlets and journalists they had conflicts with, though it hasn't received any new additions or updates since 2017.
- GamerGate Wiki - Self-explanatory, though partially broken due to a wide IP range ban.82)
- @icejournalism on Twitter - The associated account, seems inactive since 2022.
- /r/KotakuInAction on Reddit - An active hub for GamerGate, though they lack anonymity.
- /r/GamerGhazi on Reddit - In the past, this was a significant anti-GamerGate hub on Reddit.
- Gamergate (harassment campaign) on Wikipedia - Heavily anti-GamerGate and convoluted.
- GamerGate on >KnowYourMeme - Heavily pro-GamerGate, but it's messy and you would probably get laughed at if you tell people to read an article on fucking KnowYourMeme.
- Gamergate campaign on Encyclopedia Brittanica - While anti-GamerGate, it's actually readable.
2)
"Ethics in Video Game Journalism" (April 10, 2003). Online Journalism Review.
3)
"IGN hit with layoffs, 1UP, UGO and GameSpy shutting down" (February 21, 2013). Polygon.
5)
"Depression Quest". Steam Greenlight.
7)
Despite the thread's significance, it was never fully archived, leaving us with an archived snapshot and screenshots of the aftermath. Searching the thread's URL would return a brief Kiwi Farms discussion whose users were furious with the thread, before Quinn's involvement. The staff, through former administrator “Copypaste”, noted that these posts didn't have a history and weren't made by Wizardchan regulars.
8)
"The fact that I can't do something simple like put a game on greenlight without shit like this (1/2)" [Archive] (December 12, 2013). Twitter.
9)
"(2/2) happening while people say "oh it's not REALLY sexist here..." makes me sick with rage." [Archive] (December 12, 2013). Twitter.
12)
"What everyone saw vs what really happened". Know Your Meme.
13)
"Q&A with Fredrick Brennan of 8chan" (October 9, 2014). Know Your Meme.
14)
"Female Game Developers Can’t Even Submit A Game To Greenlight Without Receiving Harassment" (December 13, 2013). Game Statik.
15)
"Female Developer Verbally Abused After Submitting Game to Steam Greenlight" (December 13, 2013). Gameranx.
16)
"Depression Quest Dev Faces Harassment after Steam Submission" (December 13, 2013). The Escapist.
17)
"Admission Quest: Valve Greenlights 50 More Games" (January 8, 2014). Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
18)
"After a bumpy ride, ‘Depression Quest’ gets some good news" (January 9, 2014). The Daily Dot.
19)
"The Sexist BS Women Who Make Video Games Have to Deal With" (January 24, 2014). Vice.
20)
"Truth In Gaming: An Interview with The Fine Young Capitalists" (September 9, 2014). APGNation.
21)
"Depression Quest" (August 11, 2014). Steam.
23)
"antinegationism". Penny Arcade.
24)
"Leper's Colony" [Mirror]. Something Awful.
25)
"@TheQuinnspiracy The thread got nuked from orbit so you can't even view it in the Gas Chamber." (August 16, 2014). Twitter.
26)
"MundaneMatt DMCA Evidence" (August 22, 2014). KnowYourMeme.
27)
"What the hell just happened?" (August 19, 2014). TwitLonger.
28)
"The Fine Young Capitalists" (August 26, 2014). Indiegogo.
29)
"Meet the Female Gamer Mascot Born of Anti-Feminist Internet Drama" (August 28, 2014). Vice.
31)
"It's Dangerous to Go Alone: Why Are Gamers So Angry?" (August 28, 2014). The Daily Beast.
32)
"Gaming Is Leaving "Gamers" Behind" (August 28, 2014). BuzzFeed News.
33)
"A Guide to Ending "Gamers"" (August 28, 2014). Gamasutra.
34)
"The death of the “gamers” and the women who “killed” them" (August 28, 2014). Ars Technica.
35)
"We Might Be Witnessing The 'Death of An Identity'" (August 28, 2014). Kotaku.
36)
"Sexism, misogyny and online attacks: It's a horrible time to consider yourself a 'gamer'" (August 28, 2014). The Financial Post.
37)
"This Guy's Embarrassing Relationship Drama Is Killing the 'Gamer' Identity" (August 29, 2014). Vice.
38)
"Why we need more developers like Zoe Quinn" (August 30, 2014). EuroGamer.
39)
"There are gamers at the gate, but they may already be dead" (August 31, 2014). Destructoid.
40)
"The Monday Papers" (September 1, 2014). Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
41)
"Something like >#NotYourShield" (September 2, 2014). 4chan /v/.
42)
“#NotYourShield” is a hashtag that showing how women and minorities also supported the movement as well, not just stereotypical angry white men, but there were some concerns about it weaponizing minorities and people tried to challenge whether users in the hashtag were actually real people.
43)
"A brief note about the continued discussion about Kotaku's approach to reporting." (August 26, 2014). Kotaku.
44)
"On Patreon support" (August 26, 2014). Polygon.
45)
"In light of recent events" (September 4, 2014). Destructoid.
46)
"Publisher's Note: The State of Gaming" (September 8, 2014). The Escapist.
47)
"The Escapist, Destructoid Update Their Policies, Ethics In Light Of #GamerGate" (September 9, 2014). Cinemablend.
48)
"How do you feel about the censorship on Reddit in wake of GamerGate?" (September 15, 2014). Reddit /r/technology.
50)
"Regarding recent events" (September 18, 2014). 4chan /v/.
52)
"Exposed: The Secret Mailing List of the Gaming Journalism Elite" (September 17, 2014). Breitbart.
53)
"The List: Every Journalist in the GameJournoPros Group Revealed" (September 21, 2014). Brietbart.
54)
"How Steve Bannon Created an Online Haven for White Nationalists" (August 22, 2016). Mother Jones.
55)
"Trump’s Choice of Stephen Bannon Is Nod to Anti-Washington Base" (November 14, 2016). The New York Times.
58)
"GamerGate's Headquarters Has Been Destroyed By Trolls" (December 4, 2014). Buzzfeed News.
59)
"What's Next for Gawker?" (June 10, 2016). The Washington Post.
60)
"What we still haven’t learned from Gamergate" (January 7, 2021). Vox.
61)
, 65)
, 71)
"The Attack On Nancy Pelosi Is Another Stark Reminder Of The Dangers Of Gamergate" (November 1, 2022). The Gamer.
62)
"Video Game Conventions Are Still Hotbeds Of Sexualized Abuse" (June 9, 2023). Kotaku.
63)
"Is YouTube killing the traditional games press?" (June 18, 2024). Gamasutra.
66)
"If we took ‘Gamergate’ harassment seriously, ‘Pizzagate’ might never have happened" (December 14, 2016). The Washington Post.
67)
"How Cuties Got Caught in a Gamergate-Style Internet Clash" (September 15, 2020). Wired.
68)
"How Gamergate birthed QAnon" (October 28, 2021). The Daily Dot.
69)
"How the U.S. Capitol attack highlights the challenges of thwarting online right-wing extremism" (January 13, 2021). PBS.
70)
"From Gamergate to AmberTurd: The alt-right is hijacking the Depp v Heard trial" (May 27, 2022). The Independent.
72)
"Rieder: Stop adding 'gate' to every flap" (January 15, 2014). USA Today.
73)
"Deflategate, Watergate and lazy labeling" (February 1, 2015). The Hill.
74)
"Put a "gate" on it: We've made every minor scandal equal to Nixon's Constitutional crisis" (August 13, 2017). Salon.
76)
"Uh oh, I accidentally Brianna Wu." [Summary] (October 10, 2014). 8chan /gg/.
77)
"File:Wu never left small.jpg". GamerGate Wiki.
78)
"brianna.bsky.social". Clearsky.
79)
"As Ground Shifts, ‘Flailing’ Democrats Struggle to Find Footing in Diversity Fight" (February 8, 2025). The New York Times.
80)
"I fear that progressivism has become the very thing we fought against" (September 9, 2024). The Boston Globe.
81)
"Brianna Wu Says She Didn’t Change. The Progressive Movement Did." (October 18, 2024). The Free Press.
82)
For some reason, if you view the source code for an article on the GamerGate Wiki, it'll return a message about your IP address being listed as an open proxy on the DNSBL when it probably isn't.
83)
In the event that “8chan.moe” goes down, they also have the “8chan.se” and “8chan.cc” domains.
gamergate.txt · Last modified: 2025-04-17 14:53:26 by namelessrumia