PC gaming 101: never look at the Steam Forums. Every single new release is a mess of people screaming ‘woke!’ and that the game has been ruined by either LGBTQ+ representation, non-White casting, or ‘ugly’ women. Take your pick. You see it a lot already on social media platforms like X, and occasionally Reddit, spurred on by YouTubers and Twitch streamers like Asmongold, but Steam is notorious for its poor moderation and lack of oversight.
Unfortunately, no game is safe, save for the few that have become flagpoles for anti-woke rhetoric, like Crimson Desert or Black Myth Wukong. Even 007 First Light, in which James Bond continues his womanizer streak with exceedingly attractive women, isn’t exempt. The forums are filled with players claiming that the franchise has been “hijacked” and that IO Interactive’s newest offering is “DEI slop.” Things got so bad that Valve itself even had to step in and lock down several threads.
Many, such as one demanding “warning labels” for DEI in games, have gotten their users banned, but they aren’t removed, allowing the bigotry to remain visible to anyone who happens by. They’re also laden with awards and hundreds of like-minded comments from users still permitted to post. Earlier today, one such user posited the question, “Is Europe being taken over migrants?”, sarcastically musing that James Bond seems to be the only British character in the game. Numerous other posts and comments throughout the forums conflate British with white, echoing this sentiment. 007 First Light has even earned itself an anti-woke nickname, “No Time to DEI.”
There are posts from players trying to combat this rhetoric, voicing frustration over the same backlash cropping up with every new game, but these quickly devolve into endless arguments.
I could go on and on — the number of these kinds of posts and comments only increases as I write this. The point is that Steam’s lax moderation has let this kind of mentality fester on the platform, making these communities increasingly unwelcoming to actual fans who just want to discuss new releases.
It’s Not Just The Steam Forums
Steam’s code of online conduct explicitly prohibits “abusive language or insults”, and, for discussions and comment threads in particular, “discrimination,” “trolling or baiting,” and “encouraging or facilitating real-world violence.” Yet again and again, the forums are littered with players breaching these guidelines. The Guardian published an exposé earlier this year on how the unchecked bigotry on the platform has become a major problem for developers, even spilling out into reviews, with Studio Plane Toast creative director Émi Lefèvre claiming that “Valve’s refusal to moderate is making Steam reviews and forums the battleground for a culture war.”
While the overall review score for 007 First Light sits at ‘Very Positive’, one glance at the ‘Not Recommended’ reviews, and you’ll find numerous posts complaining about the diverse cast, even calling M slurs. It’s a problem exacerbated by curators such as the ‘Woke Content Detector,’ which shine a spotlight on games and encourage this kind of behavior. Yet Valve has not taken action. As The Guardian put it, “It is increasingly easy for the average consumer to log on to Steam and encounter abuse, bigotry, and much of which has been cleared by moderators.”
007 First Light’s Steam Forums are a mess, but unfortunately, we could write news stories like this for every new game that comes out. Steam is by far the largest storefront on PC, holding a near-monopoly on the platform. The social features are what set it apart from its cohorts — communities and fanbases are facilitated right alongside your library. But with lax moderation and a shamelessly hands-off approach, these tools have become borderline unusable unless you have the bandwidth to filter through hundreds of bigoted comments and culture war talking points.
- Released
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May 27, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence, In-Game Purchases
