Steam has removed the indie gladiatorial game Domina from its storefront and banned its developer after they used their patch notes to launch into a transphobic tirade, including making bigoted comments about trans activist streamer Clara ‘Keffals’ Sorrenti. The game is now no longer available to purchase on the PC storefront.
Domina developer Dolphin Barn’s Nicholas John Leonhard Gorissen, dubbed Steam’s “most unlikeable developer,” had used his game’s patch notes to insert a number of bizarre rants, previously inserting anti-mask comments telling readers to “TAKE OFF THE FCKN MASKS,” adding: “Next time you’re at the grocery store, try showing a woman your face. Be confident, unafraid of the LIES — you might get a girlfriend.”
After Steam owner Valve previously dished out a temporary ban to Dolphin Barn, the digital storefront has now gone one step further and permanently banned them from posting to their own game’s hub. According to a message Dolphin Barn posted to Domina’s official Twitter account — before that was suspended, too, along with Gorissen’s personal account — the ban was the result of them targeting another user with their comments and for making “various rule violations.”
Steam removes Domina after ‘deadname’ patch notes
This ban followed the publishing of a new set of patch notes, titled ‘deadname: domina,’ in which the developer changed Domina’s name to Dominus and bizarrely said that they were changing “the sex of a video game.” The notes also include transphobic comments about political activist Keffals.
(Content Warning: Transphobia)
“Deadname: domina,” the patch notes begin. “Please don’t mention it any more. We only mention it here to say: don’t mention it any more. It’s totally normal to change the sex of a video game and NOT CONFUSING TO ANYBODY. Please do not be a bigot. If you are confused, please simply stop being confused and remember that DOMINA doesn’t exist and never did, but DOMINUS does exist, and always has, you just didn’t know you were playing a man, who was dressed as a woman, but now that we reveal it to you, you have NO RIGHT to feel deceived, the same way the poor drunk dudes who transvestites like Keffals had sexual intercourse with, without disclosing that they were a man, have no right to feel wronged and you’re a bigot for being confused or even mentioning something like that happening, let alone having an opinion about it.”
After the ban was distributed, Domina was removed from Steam, with a message on its former store page now reading: “At the request of the publisher, Domina is no longer available for sale on Steam.” As such, it’s unclear if Steam delisted the game at Dolphin Barn’s request, or if this is a placeholder message from Valve. B
Dolphin Barn and Gorissen were given the moniker of Steam’s “most unlikeable developer” by Stephanie Sterling, a YouTube creator whose video outlining Gorissen’s exploits seemingly marked the beginning of the end for the dev. After Sterling’s video highlighting Domina’s various bizarre patch notes brought further scrutiny upon Gorissen, the developer took to Twitter to criticize the YouTuber, with his comments eventually leading to his ban on the platform.
In other news, Halo Infinite’s split-screen co-op mode has been canceled. Also, the Nintendo Switch is reportedly receiving a ton of GameCube remasters.
