Game companies speak out against anti-Asian violence after mass shooting

Stop Asian Hate rally
(Image credit: Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images)

Several game companies on Wednesday expressed support for the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities following a string of murders in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday night. Microsoft, Sony, and others have thrown their support behind the #StopAsianHate hashtag on Twitter.

The alleged shooter targeted three spas and killed eight people: seven of them women, and six of Asian descent, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Just last week, US President Joe Biden mentioned "vicious hate crimes against Asian Americans who've been attacked, harassed, blamed, and scapegoated" during the coronavirus pandemic, which former President Trump frequently referred to as the "China virus." The group Stop AAPI Hate, which was formed in 2020 to track incidents of hate against Asian Americans, has recorded more than 3,800 incidents since March 2020, and hate crimes in major cities have increased by 150 percent since 2019.

Several game companies, including Bandai Namco and Ubisoft, have tweeted support of the #StopAsianHate hashtag, and Sony and Bungie have committed to donating to organizations working to make a difference. 

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In February, Twitch tweeted: "Violent hate crimes and speech against Asians & Asian Americans have seen a sharp increase during this pandemic. Join us in taking a stand against xenophobia & violence by raising awareness within your communities and supporting charitable organizations." Twitch has also promoted tweets from streamers sharing resources and their personal stories.

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In the wake of Tuesday's shooting, some streamers have chosen to stream in support of Asian American charities. Game designer and streamer Nina Freeman highlighted Red Canary Song, and translator Kazuma Hashimoto collected more than $3,000 in donations for the Asian Mental Health Collective. You can find more information and resources concerning anti-Asian violence collected here.

Wes Fenlon
Senior Editor

Wes has been covering games and hardware for more than 10 years, first at tech sites like The Wirecutter and Tested before joining the PC Gamer team in 2014. Wes plays a little bit of everything, but he'll always jump at the chance to cover emulation and Japanese games.


When he's not obsessively optimizing and re-optimizing a tangle of conveyor belts in Satisfactory (it's really becoming a problem), he's probably playing a 20-year-old Final Fantasy or some opaque ASCII roguelike. With a focus on writing and editing features, he seeks out personal stories and in-depth histories from the corners of PC gaming and its niche communities. 50% pizza by volume (deep dish, to be specific).