Anima Interactive, the studio behind Take Us North, one of the most controversial games of the year, has erased itself from the internet just days after growing scrutiny connected it to Microsoft, Wings Interactive, Sweet Baby Inc., and even the United Nations.
The Game That Sparked It All
At the center of the firestorm is Take Us North, a narrative survival game developed by Anima Interactive.
The project was pitched as a “socially conscious” experience — an empathy-driven title where players take on the role of a guía, or guide, escorting groups of migrants as they cross deserts, fences, and border patrols on their way into the United States.
A screenshot from the teaser trailer for Take Us North – YouTube, Anima Interactive
On paper, the developers described it as a way to shed light on migrant struggles, drawing from interviews and anthropological research. Mainstream outlets like Wired eagerly promoted it as an “empathy machine.” Microsoft lent legitimacy through its ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program, which provided early funding and exposure.
But critics saw something different. To them, Take Us North was less about storytelling and more about glorifying criminal coyotes and normalizing illegal border crossings. After all, in practice, the player isn’t just telling stories — they are actively roleplaying the process of smuggling migrants into the United States.
Gothic Therapy Pulls Back the Curtain
The controversy might have stayed within gaming circles if not for the independent watchdog channel Gothic Therapy, hosted by MasterofTheTDS and Writing Raven. Their investigation argued that Take Us North wasn’t a grassroots indie project at all, but rather the product of a carefully constructed pipeline of institutional support.
Here’s what they uncovered:
- Wings Interactive: The shadowy funding group once again emerged in the picture. Wings co-founder Audrey Leprince publicly promoted Take Us North, endorsing it and helping pipeline it into the indie festival circuit. While Wings may not have directly bankrolled the title, its blessing carried institutional weight.
- Sweet Baby Inc.: Gothic Therapy reminded viewers of the connection between Wings and Sweet Baby Inc. — specifically through Kim Belair, a co-founder of SBI who served on Wings’ board. While there’s no evidence Sweet Baby directly worked on Take Us North, their influence within Wings ties them indirectly to the project.
- Clever Endeavor Games: Another studio, Clever Endeavor, reportedly invested in Take Us North while also financing Wings’ 2025 Elevate program, which funnels money toward activist-driven projects.
- Microsoft: Through ID@Xbox, Microsoft gave Anima Interactive corporate legitimacy, pushing Take Us North into the mainstream.
- The United Nations: Perhaps the most shocking revelation — Gothic Therapy reported that Take Us North was showcased at the United Nations under the codename “The American Dream” just nine months ago. A game simulating illegal border crossings had not only corporate but also global institutional support.
The diversity page from Wings Interactive – YouTube, GothicTherapy
This web of connections painted Take Us North as far more than an indie experiment. It was a case study in how Wings, Sweet Baby, and their allies funnel activist projects into the spotlight — and how corporations and even international institutions help protect them.
The Public Rejection
For all the institutional backing, the public wasn’t buying it.
On the GameTrailers YouTube channel, the Take Us North trailer languished at only 3,800 views, with an embarrassing 433 dislikes to just 69 likes as of August 26th.
The like to dislike ratio for Take Us North as of August 26, 2025 – YouTube, GameTrailers
The Anima Interactive YouTube channel fared no better, with just 61 subscribers. Without Microsoft, Wings, and festival endorsements, the game would have likely gone unnoticed.
The project only broke into the mainstream once influencers like Asmongold, SmashJT, Grummz, and Gothic Therapy began exposing its premise and connections. Even Elon Musk responded to the controversy, calling the project simply “Weird.”
Anima Interactive Vanishes
It was in the midst of this growing scrutiny that Anima Interactive made its most drastic move yet: it scrubbed its entire online presence.
Smash JT points out that Anima Interactive has scrubbed its internet presence after scrutiny over Take Us North – X, @SmashJT
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As SmashJT documented, the studio’s official X account (@anima_creates) was deleted. Founder Karla Reyes (@kreyess121) also erased her personal account. The company’s Instagram was set to private. And even the official Take Us North website — once used to promote the game and connect to its Kickstarter campaign — was locked behind a private wall.
In short: the studio vanished without a trace as soon as people started looking into its connections.
Why the Anima Interactive Disappearance Matters
Instead of defending their project, explaining their artistic choices, or addressing critics head-on, Anima Interactive chose to run and hide.
A screenshot from the teaser trailer for Take Us North – YouTube, Anima Interactive
That choice sends a loud message.
It suggests:
- The studio was unprepared to answer tough questions about its funding sources and institutional support.
- The backlash pierced through the PR gloss and struck at the heart of the project’s legitimacy.
- Anima may have feared that further exposure would unravel even more uncomfortable truths.
A screenshot from the teaser trailer for Take Us North – YouTube, Anima Interactive
Far from quelling controversy, the disappearance has amplified it. Every deleted account, every locked page, becomes fuel for those arguing that Take Us North was never just a harmless indie story — but part of a pipeline the industry doesn’t want discussed.
The Streisand Effect
By scrubbing their presence, Anima Interactive has triggered what’s known as the Streisand Effect: where the attempt to hide something only draws more attention to it.
A screenshot from the teaser trailer for Take Us North – YouTube, Anima Interactive
Had the studio simply weathered criticism, this story might have died down. Instead, the disappearance is being read as confirmation that critics were right all along.
The optics are terrible: a studio that loudly marketed its “socially conscious” identity now looks too ashamed — or too compromised — to defend its own work.
The Bottom Line
Take Us North has transformed from an obscure indie game into a global controversy.
First came Microsoft’s funding, then Wings’ endorsement, and then the United Nations showcase. Now, in the face of exposure, Anima Interactive has chosen to erase itself entirely.
A screenshot from the teaser trailer for Take Us North – YouTube, Anima Interactive
This is no longer about one video game. It’s about transparency, accountability, and the pipeline of power driving ideological projects into gaming — whether players want them or not.
And if Anima Interactive thought hiding would make the story go away, they miscalculated. The scrutiny has only begun.
Why do you think Anima Interactive erased itself from the internet? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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This reeks of the World Economic Forum pulling strings. They tried to push globalization again and it blew up in their faces. GARM was a failure so they decided to try and use a video game. Only they grossly underestimated people’s intelligence and the sheer resentment towards them and the UN as a whole these days. They’re just as useless at doing anything as the League of Nations ever was. They just have better PR.
I’m to the point I would *applaud* the US pulling out of the organization and kicking the other member states out of New York’s UN Building. But that won’t happen because too many elites (the Deep State) are key members.
I wish I could force these f**s to provide their own homes for these poor innocent angels. They push it because it never affects them. They never pay the real price for letting these people in. And they are the only ones who must pay.
Instead, all of the real price is paid by ordinary people. This is kindness with a strong scent of evil.
The UN is the most useless organization to ever officially exist. It should be disbanded and the fact that they’re not only promoting but FUNDING what amounts to propaganda that focuses on ILLEGALLY crossing the US-Mexico border should have the organization labeled as an enemy of the US.
I’ll believe they have skittered into the dark when I see Kotaku, IGN, or PC Gamer write an article about the scandal and why it is bad to have SBI, Wings, WEF, and the UN anywhere near a game.
But they haven’t. And they won’t. Which means the 99% of gamers who don’t consume current game news from independent sources will never know. Just like no one ever heard any of the problems with any of the other games or companies involved in normalizing the DEI, ESG, SJW slop-fests from any vendor.
I expect the game will be rebranded, funding will resume, and people will start new Insta and Twitter accounts. Eventually there will be a massive hooker and coke fueled Junket for the Mainstream sites and channels to buy the typical glowing review scores and sweep it all under the rug.
The Curse of Knowledge will strike again.
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