THQ Nordic Apologizes For Interview On Website Banned By Google

THQ Nordic, the publisher of Darksiders 3, Biomutant, and other big games, has apologized for holding an ask me anything (AMA) session on infamous internet forum 8chan. The message board is known for hosting threads relating to subjects such as child pornography and white supremacy; THQ Nordic says it was not aware of the site's affiliation with these topics before agreeing to the AMA.

"I personally agreed to this AMA without doing my proper due diligence to understand the history and the controversy of the site," said THQ Nordic's PR & marketing director, Philipp Brock. "I do not condone child pornography, white supremacy, or racism in any shape or form.

"I am terribly sorry for the short-sightedness of my (!) decision, and promise to be far more vigorous in my assessment of these activities in the future. This was not about being edgy, this blew up and I very much regret to have done it in the first place."

THQ Nordic announced the AMA in a tweet, saying "we're doing an 8chan AMA and we have no idea why. Come join us!" After industry figures criticized the company for this move, it then replied to its initial tweet and stated "the opportunity was here and we took it, we got apporached [sic] in a very friendly and polite manner and were assured, said person (shoutout to Mark) will take care of the nasty stuff. So, here we are." The tweet announcing the AMA has since been deleted.

8chan content was blocked from appearing in Google searches in 2015. Google also warned 8chan contains "suspected child abuse content." Since then, 8chan has become embroiled in various controversies surrounding gamergate, swatting, racism, and white supremacism.

THQ Nordic was formed in 2011 after Nordic Games acquired much of the intellectual property of the now-defunct publisher THQ. More recently it has acquired Goat Simulator developer Coffee Stain, the TimeSplitters series, and the Alone in the Dark and Act of War franchises.