UPDATE: After being down for nearly all of December 19th, the Sweet Baby Inc. website is back up and running
The website for Sweet Baby Inc.—the controversial narrative consultancy firm run by Kim Belair—went offline today and remained dark throughout the afternoon. Many now wonder if it’s simply experiencing technical difficulties or if the DEI-focused company is intentionally wiping itself from the web.
Shortly after noon, people noticed that the Sweet Baby Inc. URL returned a 408 Request Timeout error. A quick check on IsItDownRightNow.com confirmed that the narrative firm’s website had gone down for all users.
The Status of the Sweet Baby Inc. Website on the afternoon of December 19, 2024 – YouTube, IsItDownRightNow.com
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A 408 Request Timeout does not necessarily mean someone has removed the website. This error could indicate a technical glitch causing the server to respond too slowly.
While this doesn’t automatically mean the site has been deliberately taken down, it also doesn’t rule it out. In some cases, if a site’s back-end servers have been disabled, overwhelmed, or are otherwise nonresponsive, the result might be a timeout error. However, other error codes or a complete lack of response are more common indicators when a site is intentionally removed. In other words, a 408 on its own isn’t conclusive evidence that the site was taken offline on purpose, but it can occur if the site is no longer functioning as intended.
It did not take long for users to discuss this issue on social media.
Sweet Baby Inc. website is currently down 👀 pic.twitter.com/okkoKt2kO5
— Smash JT (@SmashJT) December 19, 2024
Sweet Baby Inc. serves as a narrative consultant that specializes in incorporating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) into video game stories.
The company first gained public attention after its involvement with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The firm played a significant role in crafting the game’s story, which critics widely panned for having some of the world’s greatest superheroes disrespected and brutally murdered by psychotic criminals.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Sweet Baby Inc. credits
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For example, Harley Quinn executed Batman—voiced for one of the last times by the late great Kevin Conroy—with a gunshot to the face. Before pulling the trigger, Quinn lectured the Caped Crusader about “causing long-term mental and emotional damage” to everyone he knew.
Additionally, after the Squad killed The Flash, Captain Boomerang urinated on his corpse.
Overall, the game became a notorious flop, failing so spectacularly that it triggered mass layoffs at developer Rocksteady. Of course, Belair and her company still received payment for their services and moved on while the developer faced the severe consequences of its monumental failure.
Angrboda in God of War: Ragnarok (2022), Sony Santa Monica
The company worked on God of War: Ragnarok, which featured a race-swapped version of Angrboda, a figure from Norse mythology.
Sweet Baby Inc. also contributed to Spider-Man 2, a game where Peter Parker frequently steps aside in favor of his more diverse counterpart, Miles Morales, before retiring from the role at the end of the story to let Miles continue as Spider-Man. This game also includes numerous divisive side missions, such as one where the player helps a high school-aged male child ask his boyfriend to a homecoming dance.
After Spider-Man 2’s release, players began examining Sweet Baby Inc. and Belair more closely. They discovered speeches in which Belair encouraged people to “terrify” their PR departments about the consequences of not bringing in companies like SBI to incorporate DEI into their game narratives.
Miles Morales and Spider-Man in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (2023), Insomniac Games
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In response, a Steam user named Kabrutus Rambo took matters into his own hands by creating a Steam curator group called “Sweet Baby Inc. Detected.” This group aimed to inform players which games Sweet Baby Inc. influenced, allowing those who oppose its efforts to make more informed purchasing decisions.
Sweet Baby Inc. and a group of games journalists criticized Kabrutus, labeling his curator tool a “hate campaign” before attempting to have his Steam account removed. The ultimately failed in this regard.
A screenshot of the Sweet Baby Inc. detected Steam curator list.
The SBI website’s client list faces constant scrutiny, with many gamers refusing to support studios that collaborate with Belair’s team. Most recently, gamers noticed that Japanese developer Square Enix was removed from the list entirely.
Most recently, Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance, another Sweet Baby game that credits Kim Belair as one of its writers, will be shutting its servers down for good this February. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League also announced that it will be ending its live service updates as well.
That Park Place will continue monitoring the Sweet Baby Inc. website’s status and provide updates if and when it returns.
Do you think the Sweet Baby Inc. website might be gone for good? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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