For the last week, a war has been waging in the YouTube comments of each new Ghost of Yotei trailer as the PlayStation 5 exclusive nears its release date early next month. That’s because a developer at Sucker Punch Productions joked about the assassination of Charlie Kirk on social media. Sony confirmed it had parted ways with the employee following a right-wing pressure campaign, but declined to issue any further statement. Now studio head and co-founder Brian Fleming has commented on the firing directly in a new interview.
Sucker Punch artist Drew Harrison, a nearly 10-year veteran of the studio, posted “I hope the shooter’s name is Mario so that Luigi knows his bro got his back” on the day the assassination took place. Less than 24 hours later she confirmed she’d been fired. “Drew Harrison is no longer an employee of Sucker Punch Productions,” a spokesperson for Sony told Kotaku at the time.
“The facts are accurate,” Fleming told Stephen Totilo’s Game File when asked about the situation. “Drew’s no longer an employee here. I think we’re aligned as a studio that celebrating or making light of someone’s murder is a deal-breaker for us, and we condemn that, kind of in no uncertain terms. That’s sort of our studio, and that’s kind of where we are.”
Despite Harrison’s swift firing, angry internet users, urged on by clout-chasing culture warriors like Mark “Grummz” Kern, have been demanding Sony take action against any staff members who may have liked or reposted Harrison’s comment, while also targeting other companies and their employees over potential anti-Kirk sentiment. That included Bethesda, which was accused of mocking the right-wing podcast’s supporters when it posted a clip from Indiana Jones and the Great Circle of the famous Nazi puncher saying to a kitten, “You don’t care much about these fascists, do you?” It was later deleted.
Microsoft Gaming employees were also targeted, including by Elon Musk. “We’re aware of the views expressed by a small subset of our employees regarding recent events,” the company announced in response on September 12. “We take matters like this very seriously and we are currently reviewing each individual situation. Comments celebrating violence against anyone are unacceptable and do not align with our values.” A spokesperson for the company declined to comment when asked if anyone had been fired from Microsoft following these investigations.
“Sucker Punch is amazing & one of the last few bright shining lights in the game industry,” Harrison posted this week. “I still support them and I cannot condone any animosity directed at them. It’s truly all the best people.”
