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Tenderloin ‘zombie shooter’ game shut down by creator after backlash
San Francisco Chronicle • • technology
Key Points:
- Pierre-Louis Biojout, developer of the "zombie shooter" game "Tenderloin Night Shift," shut down the game after criticism from San Francisco officials and residents who said it portrayed homeless people as monsters to be killed.
- Biojout apologized for poor judgment, stating that targeting people struggling with addiction or homelessness was never his intention, and refunded advertisers while donating the game's total revenue to a local nonprofit supporting substance abusers, the homeless, and ex-convicts.
- The game featured fictional zombies inspired by various local figures, including references to opioid users, and included recognizable Tenderloin neighborhood elements like Waymo cars and scooters.
- Tenderloin Supervisor Bilal Mahmood condemned the game as dehumanizing and unacceptable, while the city attorney’s office called it "abhorrent."
- Created over a weekend using OpenAI’s Codex, the game earned over $300 through digital ad sales managed by Biojout’s startup, NanoCorp, which he monetized after expressing frustration with the city’s handling of the Tenderloin area.
