Holding an AMA, or an “Ask Me Anything,” is a common practice in the video game industry. It allows certain developers or studios to talk to gamers who have comments, questions or concerns in a very casual atmosphere. AMAs are commonly held on Twitter, sometimes on Facebook or Reddit. Today, THQ Nordic held an AMA on 8chan.
8chan is an image board known for (among many other issues) connections to child pornography. The decision to hold the AMA on this board was confusing, to say the least.
THQ Nordic Holds AMA on 8chan:
THQ Nordic announced that they were holding the AMA via Twitter, through posts that as of writing, are still up. You can see an image of the posts below.
The AMA itself descended into anarchy, with comments about appeasing the “SocJus” crowd, as documented on Waypoint.
GamesIndustry.biz reached out to THQ Nordic for comment on the decision to hold this AMA. Philip Brock, PR Director for THQ Nordic, responded to their request, saying:
I personally agreed to this AMA without doing my proper due diligence to understand the history and the controversy of the site. I do not condone child pornography, white supremacy, or racism in any shape or form. I am terribly sorry for the short-sightedness of my (!) decision, and promise to be far more vigorous in my assessment of these activities in the future. This was not about being edgy, this blew up and I very much regret to have done it in the first place.
This statement was then published on Twitter here. If you do a Google search for 8chan, this is the first thing you’ll see:
Extremely basic research could have informed THQ Nordic’s PR team of the massive issues associated with holding an AMA on 8chan. We’ll keep you updated on any further statements.