GYGO: US Army Backs Away From Conflict, For Once

Howdy ho, gamers, what’s the latest? Having finished Nier (finally) and The Last of Us Part II, I am on my third Dad Game of the year with God of War. So far it has been heavy on gods and light on war, but I’m sure that will change at some point. And while we’re speaking of war-adjacent things, here’s this week’s news.

Amid Controversy, the US Army Esports Team Has Paused Its Social Media Presence

Last week, The Nation published an in-depth article on the US Army’s Twitch presence, detailing how the military uses Twitch as another way to target and recruit poor, vulnerable, and undocumented youth. According to that report, the army repeatedly  prompted viewers in the chat to enter a giveaway for an Xbox controller. However, the giveaway links allegedly took viewers to a recruitment form—not a giveaway. The Army and Navy channels have also banned viewers for mentioning the United States’ considerable history of war crimes, which may violate the First Amendment.

Since The Nation’s report, the Army has been quiet on both Twitch and Twitter, though I imagine this is only a loss if you enjoy participating in war crime denial and seeing a federal institution unironically adopt a “relatable” “UwU” personality for the sole purpose of persuading teenagers to join the military. In light of these events, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced a bill that would ban the US Military from using Twitch or other livestreaming platforms for recruitment.

Ubisoft is Doing… Something… About Harassment Allegations

Ubisoft released its quarterly earnings last week, which showed growth in the first quarter of 2020. Since the end of June, a number of high-profile employees have left the company in the wake of sexual harassment allegations. As a result, Ubisoft promised internal “restructuring” to create a safer, less toxic workplace. Alongside its earnings, Ubisoft released a more concrete plan for this restructuring. The plan appears to involve many third-party audits and HR initiatives, though they will continue to report to Yves Guillemot, an Ubisoft cofounder who has acted as CEO since 1988.

ICYMI

During San Diego Comic-Con’s online event ComicCon@Home, IGN teased the 2021 return of the G4 TV network, which was best known for its shows X-Play and Attack of the Show.

For Polygon, Kazuma Hashimoto wrote about how we should not separate Ghosts of Tsushima from its historical and political context.

Capcom is recruiting licensing partners for 2021 to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of Mega Man Battle Network.

If you haven’t snagged it already, the Visual Novel Romance Collection for Black Trans Lives is still available on Itch through July 31. Just $10 gets you 14 games, and proceeds benefit The Okra Project.

Madison Butler

Madison Butler is Sidequest’s self-proclaimed jock editor. She co-founded the blog Critsumption and once got really into powerlifting via Fitness Boxing for the Nintendo Switch. She tweets at @_maddilo.