Why Are Video Game Companies Choosing To Be Silent?
1Link to article: https://bit.ly/3ShZrRs
WHEN Roe v. Wade was overturned, Team Meat, creator of classic platformer Super Meat Boy, had one thing to say: “The Supreme Court can go f@@@ itself.”
It’s been a little more than a week since the court handed down its landmark ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, ending the legal right to abortion in the United States. A person’s ability to get the healthcare they need will now be determined by a patchwork of state-by-state laws and policies. Team Meat’s tweet, composed by the company’s social media manager, is the organization’s official stance on the matter. “Everyone at Team Meat stands by this fully,” cofounder Tommy Refenes tells WIRED. “It's the exact right words in the right order. A perfect statement.”
In the wake of the June 24 ruling, the videogame industry has been uncharacteristically vocal in its support for anyone seeking abortions. Companies such as Microsoft, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Ubisoft, and Bungie all say they’re offering travel expense benefits for employees whose states limit access to gender affirming care or abortion services. “Bungie’s position is that overturning Roe v. Wade represents a devastating rollback to human rights and an attack on freedom for all Americans,” Bungie spokesperson Xandre Chateaubriand says. “We will continue to stand up for the fundamental rights of all people and we will continue doing our best to do right by our employees and our community in every step of that effort.” Dozens of companies have released public statements supporting reproductive freedom.
Those located in states with trigger laws—bans that restrict abortion to the point of eliminating them entirely and enforce criminal penalties to anyone seeking them or, in some cases, even discussing how to get them—face a more difficult path to protect employees. Texas is home to prominent studios such as Arkane Studios Austin, Bethesda Game Studios Austin, Devolver Digital, Gearbox Software, Id Software, and Zynga. It also has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, having banned abortion after six weeks in 2021.
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