The 'GamerGate' Crowd Is Review Bombing 'Slay The Spire 2,' Which Has Already Sold Millions, After Finding 'Anita Sarkeesian' In The Credits

3 months ago 92

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Overview

The Anita Sarkeesian Slay the Spire 2 Credit Controversy refers to online backlash over Anita Sarkeesian being credited as a consultant in the 2026 video game Slay the Spire 2. Sarkeesian is a feminist blogger and commentator known as the founder of Feminist Frequency, which analyzes pop culture through and social norms through a feminist lens.

In May 2026, after Slay the Spire 2 had already sold millions of copies, her inclusion in the game's credits as a consultant went viral, inspiring online backlash and review bombing on the game's Steam page. Criticisms of Sarkeesian stem from a series of videos she made in 2013 about sexism in video games that analyze female characters in video games and how they're portrayed.

While Sarkeesian received backlash from some online for her work on Slay the Spire 2, she also received defense from others, who thought that the backlash was unwarranted and reactionary.

Background

In early May 2026, it was pointed out by some people online that Anita Sarkeesian is credited in Slay the Spire 2 as a consultant. For example, on May 5th, 2026, X user @Momus_47 posted a screenshot of the Steam refund request page for Slay the Spire 2, which reportedly sold over 5 million copies in March 2026. The post gained over 8,900 likes and 1.2 million views in three days.

A video of the credits, showing Sarkeesian's name, was also posted to the /r/KotakuInAction subreddit that day, titled, "Guess who 'consulted' on Slay the Spire 2?" garnering over 300 upvotes in three days.

Sarkeesian is known for her "Tropes vs. Women In Video Games" series of videos on the Feminist Frequency YouTube channel, which explores women video game characters from a feminist lens and analyzes how sexism has affected their portrayal. This series was highly controversial with some gamers.

Developments

Slay the Spire 2 Review Bombing

As Sarkeesian's inclusion in the game's credits spread online, Slay the Spire 2's Steam page was purportedly review bombed with negative reviews. An editorial about the backlash from The Gamer includes a graph showing the bombing.

56,986 Mostly Negative سلبيلسااااسسس. 2000 4000 0000 20000 Mar 0 Mar 16 Mar 24 Apr 01 Apr 00 Apr 10 Apr 23 May 01 May 08 Apr 08 Apr 11 Apr 14 Apr 17 Apr 20 Apr 23 Apr 20 Apr 29 May 02 May 05 Review Type▾ Purchase Type▾ Language Date Range Playtime Display Hide graph A

Online Reactions

Sarkeesian's role as a consultant in the game inspired both backlash and defense for Sarkeesian, as well as memes.

On May 5th, 2026, X user @Prazkat made a post pointing out that everybody enjoyed playing the game until one person pointed out her name in the credits, suggesting the outrage is forced, garneiring over 9,500 likes in three days.

"Disappointing. The question is... why would the dev team have to hire an activist for an already successful formula? I mean, a sequel to one of the most

On May 6th, X user @GeraltofGoonia made a post supporting the review bombing of the game, writing, "Steam Chuds are DESTROYING Slay the Spire 2 in the Steam reviews for the involvement of the original woke grifter Anita Sarkeesian. LOVE to see it," gaining over 5,700 likes in two days.

Geralt of Goonia @GeraltofGoonia "I feel dirty having bought this" Steam Chuds are DESTROYING Slay the Spire 2 in the Steam reviews for the involvement of the original woke grifter Anita Sarkeesian LOVE to see it MOST HELPFUL REVIEWS ? ThatWhiteGuy270 2 reviews Not Recommended 31.9 hrs on record EARLY ACCESS REVIEW POSTED: YESTERDAY Game was quite good to kill some time but the studio seemed to align itself with people that are destroying the industry. Do not support them Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny 376 people found this review helpful 16 people found this review funny 34 100 20 8 Award 34 Devil Cat 16 reviews Not Recommended 142.7 hrs on record EARLY ACCESS REVIEW POSTED: YESTERDAY Googled who Anita Sarkeesian is. It's an OK game, used to be. A bit unbalanced, some other issues. It's early access, will be changed, no big deal, acceptable. But THIS is not acceptable, I don't want activists in games. I see activists I consider this game dead and I leave. Not my game anymore. You see I'm Chinese player. When all other Chinese players are review bombing STS2, I didn't. It's early access, means it's unfinished. I would like to give this game some time till it's finished. I do think though, that the latest updates are, kinda, you know, bad. I do think that the devs....... Well, suck at their own game. But I would give them some time. Now I don't want to wait until it's finished. I don't even want to play it. It's not just about the gameplay anymore. I don't trust the devs. I think they are likely not gonna fix the game good not gonna finish the game good. But there will likely be Read More Darian 466 games 49 reviews Not Recommended 14.5 hrs on record EARLY ACCESS REVIEW POSTED: YESTERDAY Devolver hired Anita Sarkessian to consult on it - A radical, leftist feminists who hates games, hates gamers and pursued political activism to have both censored. Hard pass. Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny 165 people found this review helpful 10 people found this review funny 10021 Award OmniBlock 20 reviews Not Recommended 0.1 hrs on record EARLY ACCESS REVIEW POSTED: YESTERDAY I regret buying this. I was unaware Anita Sarkeesian was involved. I would have NEVER bought it, knowing that. The damage she has done to this industry, and her hypocrisy, along with all of her terrible ideas, taints anything that could be fruitful. She ONLY makes things worse. Always has, always will. I unfortunately found out I could not refund this purchase, as I am past the refund window. I had not played it, and only did so to leave a review. I regret buying. Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny Award 206 people found this review helpful 13 people found this review funny 109 16 4 3 05 Lendrick 36 reviews Fisticuffs ? 1 reviews Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny Award 174 people found this review helpful 10 people found this review funny 12 6 +1 Not Recommended 1.7 hrs on record EARLY ACCESS REVIEW POSTED: YESTERDAY I feel dirty having bought this. If you are going to include people in the production of a game that a lot of people don't like and you want to avoid negative reviews, then disclose it somewhere obvious that people can see it before they buy the game. Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny Award 42 people found this review helpful 3 people found this review funny 100 6-> Not Recommended 25 hrs on record EARLY ACCESS REVIEW POSTED: YESTERDAY Purchased before learning about the developers choice in consultants. There are plenty of other games out there. Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny Award

That day, YouTuber Vara Dark – Dark Titan Media posted a video about the backlash that gained over 41,000 views in two days.

On May 7th, X user @AzalyZeldin posted a meme claiming that the video game One Iced Latte With Your Breast Milk, Please! does not include Sarkeesian as a consultant, garnering over 8,700 likes in a day.