A new report claims that Sweet Baby Inc. ruined A44 Games’ upcoming game Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn.
A screenshot from Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn (2024), A44 Games
This report comes after Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn was added to the Sweet Baby Inc. detected Steam curator list by Brazilian gamer KabrutusRambo.
Kabrutus announced the game’s inclusion on X writing, “Hey guys, I added another game to my curator list. The game is called Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, and as shown in this physical copy of the Edge magazine, it involves Kim Belair (Sweet Baby Inc. CEO). I have waited a bit before deciding to add this one because a dev from Flintlock team reached to me through my mail, stating that they eradicated the SBI part and basically remade it completely.”
He continued, “At this point, together with my staff, I have decided to give them the chance to prove this, allowing us access to the game prerelease and asking their manager to have a conversation with me. They openly refused on both points, leaving me without any way to confirm what they were telling to us. This doesn’t speak very well about them. So, yeah, new game in the list.”
Hey guys, I added another game to my curator list. The game is called Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, and as shown in this physical copy of the Edge magazine, it involves Kim Belair (Sweet Baby Inc. CEO).
I have waited a bit before deciding to add this one because a dev from… pic.twitter.com/tXPXyC33Lo
— Kabrutus (@kabrutusrambo) March 20, 2024
Following the game being added to the Sweet Baby Inc. detected list former World of Warcraft Team Lead Mark Kern reported the game had been ruined by Sweet Baby Inc.’s influence.
Kern shared information he received from a source that he describes as “seems very knowledgeable about the studios inner workings.”
First, he shared, “Proof Sweet Baby Inc. ruins games: SBI game Flintlock by A44 Games has been overrun by woke: ‘I used to work there. Flintlock was a good project with lots of potential, then it was ruined.'”
Proof Sweet Baby Inc. ruins games:
SBI game Flintlock by @a44games has been overrun by woke:
“I used to work there. Flintlock was a good project with lots of potential, then it was ruined.”
🧵(Con’t) pic.twitter.com/G1b8NTTBOH
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 21, 2024
Kern continued, “Before I go further, please note this is rumor from a source that seems very knowledgeable about the studios inner workings. Take that as it is. If others would like to verify, please DM me anon. The CEO and COO at a44 are no longer with the company, but the damage seems to have been done. The good devs at a44, I tell you how to fix it at the end of this thread.”
He then added, “Did you know the protagonist of Flintlock used to be white? When COO (and Casting Director) Andrea Topps Harjo joined the studio, her first actions were to change the character to hire Sweet Baby Inc. and change the main character to a PoC. This marked the beginnings of the problems with the game and studio.”
Did you know the protagonist of Flintlock used to be white?
When COO (and Casting Director) Andrea Topps Harjo joined the studio, her first actions were to change the character to hire Sweet Baby Inc. and change the main character to a PoC.
This marked the beginnings of the… pic.twitter.com/DFBqVh69rE
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 21, 2024
Next, he shared, “Audrea Topps-Harjo is rumored to have used the company’s funds and manpower to power her personal agenda and projects, on initiatives not related to the game or even the studio itself. One such initiative that I found is InclusionFX, a VFX company and advocacy company with shades of Sweet Baby Inc. Here is the bio from the company. She held this position at Flintlock at the same time she ran InclusionFX.”
He added, “I asked and confirmed: ‘Yea, I have witnessed our UI artists making art assets for its website as their sprint tasks.'”
Audrea Topps-Harjo is rumored to have used the company’s funds and manpower to power her personal agenda and projects, on initiatives not related to the game or even the studio itself.
One such initiative that I found is InclusionFX, a VFX company and advocacy company with… pic.twitter.com/4mF19p9A47
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 21, 2024
READ: Sweet Baby Inc. CEO Kim Belair Admits She Wanted To Take Over The Video Game Industry
As an aside, Sweet Baby Inc. CEO Kim Belair did an interview with InclusionFX where she declared one of her company’s main goals was taking over the video game industry through woke hiring practices.
She said, “In 2018, one of my best friends and I, we teamed up and we founded a company. The original desire was just to write together. We wanted to write with the two of us and a friend of ours and we wanted to write games. But we realized that as a unit we realized we were capable of doing for others what had not been done to us, which was to support us, empower us, to lift us up, to value our talent, and to help build our skills.”
She continued, “And so, today, what we do is writing, narrative design, story building, story breaking as our first and foremost. But on a secondary level we work very hard to get marginalized talent into the industry, to protect them the way that we would want to have been protected, to lift them up, and to get them into an industry where they’re too often shut out.”
Belair then admitted, “And basically, I think, to take over in the hopes that some really dope people will be able to lead into a kind of a new era for an industry that’s been kind of been, you know, the same way too long.”
Kern continued, “Aside from working with Sweet Baby Inc. and making changes to the game, Audrea also directed numerous changes in HR in her role as COO. In 2021, most developers were denied raises, and evaluations were postponed for at least 6 months. Audrea told HR to inform anyone who complained or asked questions that the reasons is ‘Is because I said so.’ She also ordered the HR department to HIDE the salaries of the top execs of the company. HR tried to help, but were unable to get past this. The team was worried about the studio finances. Meanwhile, the new hires and changes to the game resulted in a project where ‘These people know nothing about how a video game is made.’
“After nearly 2 years of these DEI changes at a44, the damage had been done,” he asserted. “At this point the studio was purchased for $175m (an unusually high sum for a small studio, btw) by Kepler Interactive in Sept of 2021, a gaming collective fund whose founder also founded the Kowloon Knights gaming fund. It was at this point that Audrea, the COO, left the company. Perhaps this was the start of a clean-up of the game’s troubles?”
After nearly 2 years of these DEI changes at a44, the damage had been done.
At this point the studio was purchased for $175m (an unusually high sum for a small studio, btw) by Kepler Interactive in Sept of 2021, a gaming collective fund whose founder also founded the Kowloon…
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 21, 2024
READ: Government-Owned Canadian Broadcasting Company Joins Sweet Baby Inc. Misinformation Campaign
Kern then shared, “The state of the game is unknown at this time, but is believed to be in shambles after this 2 year round of DEI changes. As we now know, a44 reached out to Kabrutus to refute SBI’s involvement, saying they are no longer involved and all their changes reversed. But when Kabrutus asked for proof, they refused to speak to him any further.”
He concluded, “Here is my advice to Kepler and the good folks left holding the bag at a44: – You reverted the SBI changes. Good! Announce that you have terminated services with SBI and watch your PR soar. Gamers will flock to you. Don’t try to hide it. – Keep your MC a PoC but don’t tokenize the character. Make it a great character with quality writing, one we can all love. – Remove any sermons or preachiness or anti-white, anti-male racism and sexism from the game if it still remains. Don’t lecture your audience. Embrace the gamer, and they will embrace you. Good luck and my genuine best wishes.”
Here is my advice to Kepler and the good folks left holding the bag at a44:
– You reverted the SBI changes. Good! Announce that you have terminated services with SBI and watch your PR soar. Gamers will flock to you. Don’t try to hide it.
– Keep your MC a PoC but don’t tokenize…
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 21, 2024
What do you make of this report that Sweet Baby Inc. ruined A44 Games’ Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn?
Kabrutus and Mark Kern are doing an amazing job. My blacklist is growing by the day.