The controversy over Take Us North, the game in which the player must illegally sneak migrants into the United States from Mexico, just grew even bigger. A resurfaced GDC panel featuring Anima Interactive founder Karla Reyes revealed that before her studio developed its illegal immigration game, she had promoted another project about illegally crossing the Texas border to terminate a pregnancy.
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The full talk was uncovered by the Gothic Therapy YouTube channel and its hosts MasterofTheTDS and Writing Raven. The video can be seen in full above.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Writing Raven is a writer for That Park Place under the name Raven Redgrave
The “Justice Jam” Revelation
At the Game Developers Conference, Reyes gave a soapbox-style talk about her approach to game development. Rather than focusing on mechanics or design, she emphasized “values-driven storytelling,” telling the audience that games should be used to “shift hearts and minds” and serve as tools for activism.
The slides in her presentation also showed off her connection to Wings Interactive, the funding organization connected to Sweet Baby Inc. that’s central to bankrolling activist-driven projects in gaming.
Take Us North Dev Karla Reyes giving a speech at GDC and highlighting her connection to Wings – YouTube, GothicTherapy
During the presentation, Reyes highlighted her studio’s involvement in organizing a Justice Jam — a themed game jam where developers were encouraged to create projects centered on “justice” issues. One of the games that came out of this event, which Reyes openly praised, was called Crossing Lines.
The premise of Crossing Lines was blunt: the player takes on the role of someone driving a teenage sister across the Texas border illegally in order to terminate a pregnancy in another state.
According to Reyes, the game explored the “journey” of attempting to leave Texas under new laws that restricted such procedures, framing the trip across state lines as a narrative driving experience.
A Pattern of Border-Crossing Activism in Games
The resurfaced GDC talk reveals a startling pattern in Reyes’ projects that have followed through to Take Us North.
- In Crossing Lines, the act of illegally crossing a border was reframed as an interactive “empathy” exercise about pregnancy termination.
- In Take Us North, players once again take on the role of a guide (a guía, effectively a coyote) escorting migrants illegally across the U.S.–Mexico border.
In both cases, the common theme is illegal border crossings reframed as vehicles for political messaging.
A screenshot from the teaser trailer for Take Us North – YouTube, Anima Interactive
This isn’t an isolated creative choice. It’s a through-line in Reyes’ activist approach to game development — taking highly charged political issues and turning them into interactive narratives aimed at pushing cultural change.
Gothic Therapy Connects the Dots
The watchdog channel Gothic Therapy highlighted this GDC talk as further proof of a pipeline of activist influence in gaming.
A post from Karla Reyes where she specifically thanks Kim Belair of Sweet Baby Inc. – YouTube, Gothic Therapy
Their breakdown emphasized:
- Reyes’ alignment with Wings Interactive, whose co-founder Audrey Leprince publicly promoted Take Us North.
- The involvement of Sweet Baby Inc. co-founder Kim Belair, who appeared as a juror and organizer for the Justice Jam, confirming SBI’s role in helping push these kinds of projects.
- Reyes’ own admission that she seeks out “alternative sources of funding” to keep these games alive — rather than relying on traditional gaming investors.
To Gothic Therapy, the pattern is clear: activist consultancies, grant organizations, and institutional players are quietly elevating games with political themes, regardless of commercial viability or audience demand.
From Panels to Propaganda
For many observers, Reyes’ talk read less like a technical presentation and more like a propaganda rally.
A screenshot from the teaser trailer for Take Us North – YouTube, Anima Interactive
Instead of detailing gameplay systems, Reyes filled her session with activist buzzwords, unstructured anecdotes, and plugs for her studio’s “socially conscious” projects. The most striking takeaway wasn’t a design breakthrough — it was confirmation that the same mindset behind Take Us North had already been tested in Crossing Lines, where illegal border crossings were again the core mechanic.
Anima Interactive’s Digital Disappearance
The fallout has been swift. After Take Us North and its institutional backing came under scrutiny — and now with Reyes’ Justice Jam talk resurfacing — Anima Interactive has scrubbed its online presence.
- The studio’s official X account was deleted.
- Reyes’ personal account was removed.
- The studio’s website was locked and set to private.
- Instagram was switched to private as well.
The company behind “Take Us North” deactivated their Twitter after Asmongold dropped a reaction video to their game about migrants and asylum seekers pic.twitter.com/e5bIr1gDAG
— yeet (@Awk20000) August 26, 2025
Rather than addressing criticism, Anima has chosen to vanish, leaving more questions than answers. This is similar to how Wings Interactive temporarily scrubbed itself from the internet after being exposed by Gothic Therapy.
The Bottom Line
First came Crossing Lines, a game about illegally crossing the Texas border to end a pregnancy. Now comes Take Us North, a game about illegally crossing the U.S.–Mexico border as a migrant guide. Both were pitched as “empathy” exercises, and both fit neatly into the Wings/Sweet Baby pipeline Gothic Therapy has been exposing.
A screenshot from the teaser trailer for Take Us North – YouTube, Anima Interactive
And now, under the heat of exposure, the developer behind them has erased itself from the internet.
This isn’t just indie storytelling. It seems to be a pattern — one that ties activist developers, institutional funders, and global organizations together in pushing political narratives through games.
And with each revelation, that pattern becomes harder to deny.
Are you surprised that the devs behind Take Us North have been involved in these projects? Sound off in the comments below and let us know!
