San Francisco Developer Pulls Controversial Video Game After Outcry
A tech developer has removed a video game set in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood after facing backlash for its depiction of zombie-like figures.
Pierre-Louis Biojout, a San Francisco-based tech developer, has taken down a controversial video game that allowed players to engage in zombie-like combat within the city's Tenderloin neighborhood. The game faced immediate criticism, with many arguing it trivialized the struggles of homeless individuals and those battling addiction.
Biojout announced the game's removal on X, formerly Twitter, stating, "The setting and the way I promoted it showed poor judgment. Targeting people struggling with addiction or homelessness was never my intention." He also stated that he refunded all advertisers and made a personal donation to a drug treatment and recovery service equivalent to the game's revenue.
The free, multiplayer browser game was launched on Tuesday. Biojout described it as a "Call of Duty style zombie shooter on the real SF streets," and claimed he developed it in a single weekend using AI coding tools. He reported earning $300 in advertising revenue before the game was taken down.
The game quickly ignited a firestorm on social media, with users accusing Biojout of exploiting the city's homelessness crisis for entertainment. "You think you’re being edgy but you’re just a huge piece of s–t," one critic commented. Another wrote, "Bring back shame. This is atrocious PR."
Elected officials also voiced their concerns. City Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, who represents the Tenderloin district, told the San Francisco Chronicle, "Turning violence against real people, including unhoused people, into entertainment is dehumanizing and should never be normalized."
Biojout, founder of NanoCorp, a company that uses AI agents to build online businesses, told the Chronicle that he walks through the Tenderloin twice daily and believed its "distinctive atmosphere" was suitable for a zombie-shooter game. However, the intense public reaction led him to reconsider.
Not all online commentary was critical of the game's removal. Peter Kazanjy, founder of a San Francisco sales software company, commented, "Your game was fantastic satire," and criticized those who were complaining.