IGN Reporter Rebekah Valentine Retreats from X Following Backlash Over Smear Campaign Against Black Myth: Wukong Developers
In a dramatic turn of events, IGN reporter Rebekah Valentine has locked her X account and left the platform following the expected backlash she's been facing after criticizing the developers of the highly successful game Black Myth: Wukong. This is the modern state of journalism, everyone. Zero accountability and when proven wrong, instead of coming forward and admitting... they run and hide. This emboldened Alyssa Mercante to step out of the shadows and enter FULL-on damage control mode...
Sigh... a tried and true failure of a formula.
Valentine, along with her colleague Khee Hoon Chan, are already members of #KotakuDetected for previously falsely accusing the developers at Game Science of sexism and inappropriate behavior. Their narrative has crumbled as the game continues to soar in popularity, becoming the second most-played game on Steam based on concurrent players. The numbers are truly unbelievable.
The controversy started back when Valentine and Chan published their 'article' (read: hit-piece) in November 2023 alleging that the developer Game Science had a history of sexism, citing past recruitment posters and social media posts as evidence. The accusations quickly drew heavy scrutiny, with many questioning the accuracy and motives behind the report. IGN issued a statement of LIES in an attempt to try and save face, but it failed instantly. They need to do the right thing and retract the article. Issue an ACTUAL apology, and hold their work to higher standards moving forward.
Chinese gamer Fei_fiii confirmed the existence of some crude recruitment posters, but pointed out that while the developers’ past behavior was unprofessional, it didn’t amount to sexism as Valentine and Chan had tried to claim. Her sentiment starkly contradicted the narrative Valentine tried to push.
As the success of Black Myth: Wukong continued to build, Valentine found herself increasingly isolated and criticized. The game’s achievements, coupled with the unraveling of her and Chan’s accusations, have pushed her to lock her account and retreat from X altogether.
Her bio now reads, “No longer on Twitter, don’t DM,” signaling a complete shutdown of her presence on the platform. I had to locate this from logging out of X to see it, as... of course, she already had me blocked.
But the story doesn’t end with Valentine. No, no - of course not. This is a club... and they all protect each other...
Alyssa Mercante - the disgraced activist at Kotaku, has also been coping with the fallout, seething behind a block ...as she attempts to cover for her friend. As shared with me via DMs, her Tweets are part of a broader pattern where journalists within certain circles band together to shield each other from the consequences of their actions.
It’s a tactic we’ve seen time and time again—when reality comes knocking, they close ranks, deflect, and protect their own.
Valentine’s retreat is a telling sign of how badly the smear campaign against Game Science has backfired. IGN is now trying to pretend like they didn't attempt to attack Game Science with their latest How Do You Do, Fellow Kids tweet.
Despite the coordinated efforts to tarnish the developers’ reputation, the success of Black Myth: Wukong has only grown, with over 2.2 million concurrent players on Steam, making it one of the most successful releases of all time.
The backlash against Valentine’s reporting, combined with Fei_fiii’s balanced critique, reveals a desperate attempt to twist facts into a damaging narrative that simply didn’t hold up under scrutiny.
As the dust settles, I can only wonder how long others in Valentine’s circle continues to stand by their smears before reality finally forces them to reckon with their actions. For now, it seems, the walls are closing in, and the house of cards is beginning to fall.
No amount of blocking people and creating an echo chamber will keep the truth at bay.
~Smash
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