The Ready or Not community manager known as ‘Kaminsky’ has been fired by developer Void Interactive after commenting on the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
As reported by Kotaku, Kaminsky posted the following statement last week when asked by Void Interactive to add Charlie Kirk to the Ready or Not Discord server’s list of filtered words.
“I just did Charlie Kirk,” said Kaminsky in response to the request. “Funny you mention that because me and my roomate are literally just talking about him getting shot. All I have to say is: Nothing of value was lost.”
Screenshots of the exchange were subsequently shared on social media by Charlie Kirk supporters and right-wing posters, some of whom called on Void to “address” the situation. Last week, CNN reported on what appears to be a coordinated conservative-led campaign to punish those who criticize Kirk.
Shortly after, Void confirmed it had cut ties with a community manager over comments made about a “recent tragic event.” It did not mention Charlie Kirk or Kaminsky specifically.
“We are aware of comments made by our community manager about a recent tragic event. These statements do not reflect our values or represent our company,” wrote the company in a community update shared on Steam.
Related:Kim Swift, former Portal lead developer, joins NEARstudios as COO
“We have ended our relationship with this individual and reminded our team of the responsibility we all share when communicating on public platforms. Our focus remains on fostering a respectful and professional community around Ready or Not.”
Conservatives continue to seek firings for negative Charlie Kirk comments
After Void shared the statement on social media, some commenters accused the studio of “capitulating to fascism” and suppressing free speech. Others commended the decision.
Game Developer reached out to Void Interactive in an attempt to discern whether Kaminsky was a full-time employee, contract worker, or volunteer. A company spokesperson declined to elaborate and said the studio would like to “stand by the message” posted on Steam.
Kaminsky isn’t the first person to be jettisoned by a video game studio after opining on the killing of Kirk. Last week, Sony subsidiary Sucker Punch Productions fired Ghost of Yotei artist Drew Harrison after they joked about the situation on social media platform Bluesky.
In an interview with Game File conducted after Harrison had been fired, Sucker Punch co-founder Brian Fleming confirmed the facts being reported are “accurate” and said Harrison was fired for “making light of someone’s murder.”
Related:Megabonk dev withdraws from The Game Awards over ‘unqualified’ nomination
“Drew’s no longer an employee here,” Fleming explained. “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.”