Mobile game developers Microfun, Nanobit, and Magic Tavern have been accused of reinforcing harmful stereotypes and gender-based violence in a new report about mobile game advertising.
In a Sky News report, Project Makeover (Magic Tavern), Gossip Harbor (Microfun), and Hollywood Story (Nanobit) were singled out for perpetuating “incredibly harmful” misogynistic tropes to sell their match-3 puzzle games in the UK.
The advertisement for Project Makeover portrayed a man dumping a woman’s deceased parent’s ashes on her head to force her into the salon for a makeover.
Gossip Harbor shows a man physically assaulting his partner and daughter, prompting the pop-up choice “Leave or Endure,” whilst Hollywood Story depicts a conventionally unattractive woman piercing a condom to trap a man into a relationship with her.
Using data from Similarweb and AppMagic, Sky calculates that the three games combined generated 67.7 million downloads last year, making a global revenue of $367 million through in-app purchases.
Sky reports this is “just some of many examples Sky News has seen of mobile games companies using themes of domestic abuse, violence, and the humiliation of women to get downloads, when the games themselves – simple puzzle apps – bear little relation to the narratives presented in the adverts.”
“It’s incredibly harmful if you’re seeing these things even subconsciously, if you’re seeing them actively, you’re engaging them when you’re downloading these games,” said Eliza Hatch, who runs Cheer Up Luv, an anti-public harassment campaign. “What is that encouraging?”
“[Our] purpose is to entertain safely and responsibly. In this case, we clearly missed the mark, and we apologise sincerely for any distress that our ads may have caused,” Microfun said in a statement. “We have removed the ads in question. They are no longer running, and we have made every effort to ensure that they remain unavailable to view.
“We have been reviewing our policies and procedures, and we continue to do so, in order to ensure that our content is appropriate.”
Hollywood Story developer Naobit said: “We understand your concerns, but reiterate that our advertising materials are intended to be lighthearted, fictional scenarios that do not promote harmful stereotypes or gender-based violence.
“While we regret any offence inadvertently caused, we remain confident that our ads comply with the relevant regulations.”
Magic Tavern declined to comment at all.
The Advertising Standards Authority is aware of the advertising campaigns.
In September 2022, the Advertising Standards Authority took action against several mobile game adverts, deeming them likely to cause “serious or widespread offence.”
Three mobile games were flagged to the ASA for featuring harmful gender stereotypes in promotional material. One Twitter advert for Refantasia: Charm and Conquer, from Chinese studio Oasis Games, was reported as “sexist,” and was described as displaying an “anime-style young woman in a cage.”