No Rest for the Wicked CEO Thomas Mahler rebuked German game journalist Maurice Weber and issued a defense of gamers fighting back against agenda-driven changes.
A screenshot from No Rest for the Wicked (2024), Moon Studios GmbH
Mahler took to X on May 13th where he detailed he was contacted by Weber for an article that will likely be published in the German outlet Gamestar.
He wrote, “I already know I might get myself into trouble once again by posting this, but I just replied to Maurice Weber, a German journalist who is affiliated with the German outlet Gamestar. I do think it’s especially important these days that we always remind ourselves to try to keep an open mind and try to understand even those who think differently than we do.”
He then shared a response he sent to Weber regarding “people who are apparently fed up” with the current state of gaming.
A screenshot from No Rest for the Wicked (2024), Moon Studios GmbH
Mahler wrote, “I think it all makes sense, Maurice. This is basically a backlash against cancel culture and similar phenomena because everyone has had enough of that nonsense. I’d suggest you take a more nuanced view, especially since you position yourself as a journalist. Yet, you often display a narrow-minded attitude and don’t seem to question what’s actually going on. And that is something we should expect from a journalist!”
“Just because you personally haven’t been affected by cancel culture doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a lot of foolishness happening, and it’s still ongoing,” he continued, “And it’s only a matter of time before it impacts you, too. ”
A screenshot from No Rest for the Wicked (2024), Moon Studios GmbH
Mahler then shared famous words from Pastor Martin Niemöller, “Consider this famous statement: ‘First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.’
“Instead of allowing artists to just be artists, Hollywood and most of the game developers on the West Coast have decided that it’s appropriate to use films and video games as platforms to push their own political agenda. If you argue otherwise, I would expect a journalist like you to back it up with thorough research,” he went on.
A screenshot from No Rest for the Wicked (2024), Moon Studios GmbH
“Moreover, it’s become the norm to point fingers at others, particularly at those who may think differently from us. Rather than allowing others to be different and listening to them regardless, we attack them outright. It’s frankly eerily reminiscent of old Nazi tactics,” Mahler asserted.
“Anyone who doesn’t conform is ridiculed, and it’s suggested they be shamed, fired, and have their careers destroyed,” he stated.
“This has been the approach over the past few years, and I know plenty of people whose careers have been devastated by trivialities and misinformation, and they continue to suffer today. You seem unaffected, and thus you refuse to consider a more open perspective,” Mahler wrote.
A screenshot from No Rest for the Wicked (2024), Moon Studios GmbH
Next, he stated, “Your apparent lack of empathy in this matter is not only unhelpful but also shows a considerable amount of ignorance.
“Allow me to also play critic for a moment: At Gamestar, you do the same thing. Instead of cleaning your own house, you wield the ‘We report and earn from our articles, but beware, those guys are the real villains!’ narrative, just to ensure the spotlight never falls on you, aligning yourselves just so,” he detailed.
“That’s precisely why we’ve cut you off; we find such morally dubious practices unacceptable and refuse to support them,” Mahler asserted.
A screenshot from No Rest for the Wicked (2024), Moon Studios GmbH
“You lack the initiative to conduct your own journalistic investigations, as it seems too much work when the next clickbait article is due the next day,” Mahler accused. “The sad thing is that young journalists like yourself never knew anything else.”
“The more outrage you generate, the more clicks you get, and that’s how you make your living—at the expense of others, which apparently doesn’t matter as long as you’re seen as the good guys,” he opined.
“I hope in the future you will approach the world with more skepticism and openness, and truly consider both sides instead of aligning yourself with one to amplify their propaganda,” he concluded his message to Weber.
A screenshot from No Rest for the Wicked (2024), Moon Studios GmbH
After sharing that response, Mahler added, “It is deeply, deeply important after everything that happened over the past couple of years that we always question hidden agendas, always try to be loving and show understanding even to those we vehemently disagree with. Proper discourse is more important than ever.”
“And journalists need to understand their responsibilities in all this and start acting like journalists again,” he concluded.
I already know I might get myself into trouble once again by posting this, but I just replied to @MauriceWeber42, a German journalist who is affiliated with the German outlet ‘Gamestar’.
I do think it’s especially important these days that we always remind ourselves to try to…
— thomasmahler (@thomasmahler) May 14, 2024
READ: ‘No Rest For The Wicked’ Game Designer Alexander Brazie Attempts To Justify DEI Hiring Practices
Mahler’s comments come in the wake of him rebuking consultant Alexander Brazie who attempted to justify DEI hiring practices.
Brazie, who is the CEO of video game consultancy Atomech Consulting, responded to a lengthy thread justifying DEI practices by Wardog Studios’ CEO Jade Law, Brazie posted, “Yeah, it would help if people understood: Effective DEI is about helping people who historically didn’t have the *network* to get eyes onto their work have a chance *due* to their equal skill. The whole merit smearing is so banal, presumptuous and out of touch with reality. :(”
Alexander Brazie on X
Mahler responded to Brazie’s comments and rebuked him in a comment on this author’s coverage of Brazie’s original comments on The Trent Report YouTube channel.
“This person is not affiliated with Moon Studios in any way whatsoever anymore,” Mahler wrote.
He added, “We contracted him for a short stint and he was fired for bringing nothing but friction into our team, just FYI.”
Thomas Mahler on YouTube
In March, at the height of backlash against video game consultant Sweet Baby Inc., Mahler indicated that his company does not “really hire consultants.” He wrote on X, “We don’t really hire consultants, so pardon me if I’m ignoring all your messages. I pretty much agree with what Jobs had to say about consulting.”
He added, “And I know I’ll get some hate for this, but it is what it is.”
We don’t really hire consultants, so pardon me if I’m ignoring all your messages.
I pretty much agree with what Jobs had to say about consulting:https://t.co/udGoR1V5zs
And I know I’ll get some hate for this, but it is what it is.
— thomasmahler (@thomasmahler) March 6, 2024
As for Jobs’ comments, the Apple founder stated, “I don’t think there’s anything inherently evil in consulting. I think that without owning something over an extended period of time like a few years, where one has the chance to take responsibility for one’s recommendations, where one has to see one’s recommendations through all action stages and accumulate scar tissue for the mistakes and pick oneself up off the ground and dust oneself off. One learns a fraction of what one can.
Jobs added, “Coming in and making recommendations and not owning the results, not owning the implementation, I think, is is a fraction of the of the value and a fraction of the opportunity to learn and get it better. You do get a broad cut at companies, but it’s very thin. It’s like a picture … of a banana. You might get a very accurate picture, but it’s only two-dimensional and without the experience of actually doing it you never get three-dimensional. So you might have a lot of pictures on your walls. You can show it off to your friends. You can say, ‘Look, I’ve worked in bananas. I’ve worked in peaches. I’ve worked in grapes. But you never really taste it. That’s what I think.”
He then concluded, “You’re also a variable expense and in hard times you find yourself…”
No Rest for the Wicked released into Early Access on Steam on April 18th. The official description states, “From Moon Studios, the award-winning developers of Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps comes No Rest for the Wicked, a visceral, precision Action RPG set to reinvent the genre.”
Early Access to the game includes the first chapter of the game’s narrative campaign, daily and weekly bounties and challenges, an assortment of quests, boss battles, a variety of weapons and armor as well as a replayable dungeon, and the purchasing and furnishing of a home.
The game is expected to include 4 player co-op multiplayer, an expanded story, more maps, farming, as well as more bosses, weapons, armor, items, bounties, and challenges.
A screenshot from No Rest for the Wicked (2024), Moon Studios GmbH
What do you make of Mahler’s comments regarding German game journalist Maurice Weber and his defense of gamers fighting back against aganda-driven changes?
