Rockstar Games is cashing in on the onslaught of harassment and threats against several women in the gaming community with a new game designed to satiate the violent and often misogynistic urges of gamer trolls.
Available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, The Sluttening is an action-adventure game that allows players to take on the role of an angry, misogynistic Internet user who is exacting revenge on the character of Jill, a “slut” who claims to want to date nice guys but who actually dates jerks.
“We’re really excited about this one,” says game developer T.J. Ferraro. “Our customers have been eager for a more realistic, woman-degrading gaming experience, and we finally have the perfect plot to satisfy that demand.”
The game begins with the user joining a gang of Internet vigilantes united to avenge Jill’s ex-boyfriend, who’s really a pretty cool guy if you’re not shallow or a bitch. Users gain points by attacking Jill’s reputation, threatening her from anonymous accounts, and generally exposing her for the fraud whore that she really is. “Jill really is a whore,” says Ferraro.
Helpful tools, hidden in crates around the various levels, include burner Twitter accounts, NSFW sub-reddits, and endless Facebook comment threads. Players advance more quickly through more graphically sexual threats. Other missions involve the implementation of anonymous death threats to Jill’s phone and surreptitiously hacking into her computer to find nude photos to post to 4Chan.
A negative review of The Sluttening written by Lisa Anderson on Metacritic has sparked an outrage among fans. “We don’t hate women,” wrote Reddit user XxdickblastxX. “We just hate sloots like Lisa Anderson who can’t understand what gaming is all about. By the way, ‘Sloot’ is a nicer way of calling a woman a slut.”
Another user, DrWhoFarted, replied by saying, “We hate that gamers are being made out to be people who would post Lisa Anderson’s home phone number, which is 516-484-9338. That’s just not who we are.”
“This isn’t about misogyny,” added forum moderator iSpoogedOnAnneFrank. “It’s about the questionable ethics of feminist whores who don’t belong in gaming or game journalism.”
