Domina removed from Steam after indie developer's transphobic posts on the platform

The Steam store is home to a vast variety of games, from indie to AAA. It is arguably the most iconic PC digital platform, with nearly every major release making its way to the Valve-owned marketplace. Every so often, a game - or more precisely a developer - comes along to make a mess at an unprecedented level. This time, it was Domina from Dolphin Barn Incorporated.

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While the 2017 Roman gladiator-inspired pixel indie game has seen good reviews over the years, the same cannot be said for the developers behind it. The individual behind the game has become infamous for sneaking his hateful worldview in the game's patch notes.

The latest of which is anti-LGBT sentiment manifesting in the form of mockery towards trans people. Of course, this was the last straw that broke the camel's back and now Valve has delisted the game from the platform.

Domina is in hot waters with Steam

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The recent Steam patch notes start off with an attention-grabby title, of course, for all the wrong reasons. It reads:

"We're Out of Ideas, Mentally Unstable, Totally Degenerate, & Desperate for Clout - Lets Pretend We're A Completely Different Game To Gain Relevance!"

It is a direct aim at trans folks, implying that they transition to merely gain attention. The cringe intensifies with the patch notes description.

By changing "Domina" to "Dominus" and being adamant that the game be referred to by the new name, the developer mocks trans people who face the prejudice of deadnaming. Essentially the act of referring to a trans person by the name they were assigned before transitioning. Of course, this is not the first time such acts have come to public notice.

His other shenanigans include:

1) Blatant disregard for Steam TOS and guidelines

Following claims of content being cut from the game to be sold as DLC, Valve warned the individual for falsely flagging negative reviews. He was also warned for hurling abuse towards players on the discussion forums. The official statement from Valve reads:

"This is the second time that one of your posts violates our Discussion Rules and Guidelines, specifically insulting or flaming another user. We're also noticing a trend with abusive messages sent when banning players from your hub."

Of course, he didn't stop, which was followed by a swift permanent ban and another Valve message citing his attacks towards trans Twitch streamer Keffals. After being banned from the forums, he took to the patch notes of everything to continue propagating his alt-right worldview.

2) Anti-mask drivel

This is embarassing to say the last (Image via Steam)

The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the worst incidents in recent memory. Making light of it in such a way is pretty childish. Not to mention this is not the place for such actions, even in jest. If that wasn't enough, this just makes one come off as a paranoid conspiracy theorist.

3) Anti-pornography rant

The tasteless drivel aside, he ends on an ironic note, claiming that people should avoid taking advice from "strangers on the internet" - in this case, players should truly heed his advice and ignore his insane ramblings.

It also begs the question as to what he had planned to achieve with this drama - Attention? He's got plenty of that and he's not the good kind. Sales? It's not going to happen anymore.

If anything, this fiasco is a great example of how to ruin your game's sales. Domina was pretty decently received by gamers and to think someone could throw all that effort and goodwill out of the window with such distasteful behavior and remarks is frankly nothing short of immature and stupid.

The game is no longer available for purchase on Steam and neither are its DLCs. The soundtrack has been kicked off Bandcamp as well. At the end of the day, all's well that ends well.