Dev cancels ‘zombie shooter’ game after backlash over homeless people depiction

Indie developer Pierre-Louis Biojout has removed Tenderloin Night Shift, a zombie shooter set in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, after officials and residents criticized the game for portraying homeless people and opioid users as enemies. Biojout shut down the game on October 16 and removed its promotional material from the internet. He also said he refunded advertisers and donated the game’s reported $300 in revenue to Delancey Street, a nonprofit that provides treatment and recovery services. “Targeting people struggling with addiction or homelessness was never my intention.” Game depicted Tenderloin residents as monsters Tenderloin Night Shift was created over a weekend using OpenAI’s Codex and monetized through digital advertisements sold by Biojout’s startup, NanoCorp.