Video Game Companies Call Out Anti-Asian Violence In Wake Of Mass Shooting

A tragic mass shooting happened in Atlanta Georgia on Tuesday night, killing eight people. Of those eight, it is reported that six of them were women of Asian descent. Although some police are still trying to claim the motive of these murders is unknown, the sharp rise in violence against Asian and Pacific Islander communities since the Coronavirus pandemic began is alarming. It is undeniable that this latest awful act of violence has hammered home the awful reality of the prejudice Asian people are facing.

Now, several video game companies are rising to promote the #StopAsianHate hashtag online, as well as asking fans to consider donating to relevant charities or learning more information on exactly what's happening.

Right now, some of the biggest games companies have released statements on the AAPI hate that has been going on, from Activision Blizzard to Bungie to Bandai Namco and beyond. Of course, the two biggest players in gaming consoles, Sony and Microsoft, have also added their voices to the discussion too.

The PlayStation account tweeted about how troubled the team were, and linked to stopaapihate.org; while Microsoft had already been holding a diversity and inclusion event called Include. These sessions spanned a few days where Microsoft hosted talks from speakers who are experts on the subject of diversity, and its statement was folded into that. It reads: "Acts of hate and violence continue to unfold, including yesterday's horrifying attack on members of the Asian community. We're angry and saddened, and we start today more determined to bring people together across the world to accelerate the work necessary to drive change."

Elsewhere, Twitch has also tweeted its support of the AAPI communities with a link to a page with info on several Asian-orientated charities that are helping to support the AAPI community at this time. This link can be found here if you are interested in donating.

PC Gamer also spotted that Twitch has been promoting tweets sharing facts and information about anti-Asian hate. One such tweet from Charlotte Clymer shares that, according to Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council and Chinese for Affirmative Action, hate crimes against Asian Americans increased by nearly 150% in 2020. That's a huge rise in the amount of violence directed at AAPI communities, and something that we should all definitely be wary of. We should all offer our wholehearted support to the communities affected by this hate. #StopAsianHate.

Topics: Xbox, News, Twitch, bandai namco, PlayStation, Bungie, Activision