Catalyst Game Labs has come under fire for its treatment of fans over the past week, beginning with another hostile takeover of a fan-run online space and culminating in a drastic change in the company’s online presence. This has resulted in the blocking of many Battletech and Shadownrun enthusiasts, which has created an uproar on X.
Catalyst Game Labs, the company that produces tabletop products under the Shadowrun and Battletech licenses, has been the subject of multiple controversies over the past few years. Many have criticized the company over its firing and canceling of core writer Blaine Lee Pardoe for his political beliefs in 2022.
The summer of 2023 saw another controversy when the company ousted the leadership of the largest Battletech subreddit (r/Battletech) in order to promote a Pride Month-themed fanfiction compilation. From late deliveries of ordered items to poor quality control and the use of low-wage overseas labor, there seems to be no shortage of difficulties for the small tabletop company. Catalyst Game Labs’ most recent controversy, however, is one that not only closely relates to previous entanglements, but also might serve as their most sweeping and impactful misstep to date.
Catalyst Game Labs’ Demo Team, or CDT, is a collection of tabletop fans who run events at local stores and conventions. These events have Catalyst Game Labs’ blessing, and they have previously enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with the company. The Demo Team has access to Catalyst Game Labs’ newest line of products, and Catalyst Game Labs receives free advertising.
The CDT members are not employed or paid by Catalyst Game Labs. The Demo Team was largely organized through the use of a Discord server, the admin of which was a paid liaison with Catalyst Game Labs, who, due to requests for privacy, will be referred to as “Susan.” According to members of the Demo Team who brought information forward, “Susan” was generally respected and ran the server with few incidents. This would last until the involvement of one of Catalyst’s marketing leaders became involved, an individual who will be referred to as “Jane.”
“Jane” already has a reputation within the Battletech community. According to a former moderator of the Battletech subreddit, “Jane” was instrumental in the subreddit takeover last year that saw the moderation team ousted and replaced with users who more closely aligned with the company’s leftist political preferences. A member of the Demo Team alleged that at one point, “Jane” approached “Susan” regarding the CDT server. “Jane” claimed to have a dossier on individuals within the Demo Team who she considered to be problematic and requested that they be removed from the CDT. “Susan” declined.
Where “Jane” obtained this dossier is uncertain, but some members of the Demo Team believe that she may have acquired it from another CDT member, an individual who was previously banned from the CDT server for creating dossiers on other members he disagreed with politically, and using them to try and have his targets removed. It is unknown if this is the dossier to which “Jane” allegedly referred, but as the user and Jane both frequented the same external Battletech-themed Discord server, and given the fact that “Jane” made the user a moderator of the Battletech subreddit during last year’s takeover (as well as an initial member of the CDT’s Transition Team during this year’s takeover) it’s clear that they are in contact, and that “Jane” could have had access to this dossier.
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“Susan” declined to investigate “Jane’s” dossier, and soon thereafter, there was a major change in the CDT server. “Susan” was fired, and “Jane” was placed in charge of what the company referred to as a Transition Team, effectively placing her in authority over the server until company leadership settled on a suitable replacement for “Susan.” Shortly after taking charge, “Jane” posted in the CDT Discord, encouraging CDT members to report one another for “inappropriate behavior.”
The purpose behind these takeovers was nebulous and led to widespread speculation online, but the final piece of the puzzle arrived on the morning of the 24th when Catalyst Game Labs posted an update to their community guidelines on X (formerly Twitter). The community guidelines now state that Catalyst could remove content and users that they judged to be inappropriate across all of their social media platforms. Within hours of this announcement, the company began a massive blocking campaign, and hundreds of users found themselves blocked by Catalyst Game Labs.
Several influential online Battletech personalities were blocked along with vast numbers of their followers in what some believed to be an automated process, while others claimed to have been blocked immediately after voicing disagreement or concerns with the new policy. While the platform began to piece together the events, the company made another announcement in the CDT Discord server; Catalyst Game Labs was launching its own official Discord server, an authorized-access online community under its direct control.
These events played out in rapid succession, giving the strong impression that they were connected. It appears to many that Catalyst’s latest moves are a blatant attempt to control and censor conversations surrounding their products online, as well as to remove voices that disagree with their actions and/or politics. There does appear to be a left-leaning bias to the blocking campaign, with right-wing accounts (including Razörfist and Blaine Lee Pardoe) comprising the bulk of those affected. It is still too soon to see what sort of moderation will be done in Catalyst’s new Discord server, but there is little reason to believe that it will be different from their moderation on other platforms like X and the Battletech subreddit.
The takeover of the CDT server is already controversial, but there is more to the situation than the concerns about censorship and cancellation. Some users have begun to speculate that Catalyst’s ousting of “Susan” and the imposition of the Transition Team and conduct guidelines may constitute a breach of labor laws. According to one Demo Team member, the recent acquisition could be construed as creating an employer/employee relationship with individuals who are not being paid.
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With Catalyst’s higher-ups now free to dictate policy and behavior to a group of unpaid fans in a server of their own creation, the position does appear to have some merit. However, this cannot be stated definitively at the present time, as more information needs to be collected and analyzed over the coming weeks. Regardless, for the time being, it appears that Catalyst Game Labs may have gone a few steps too far with their attempt to control online information.
The backlash online has been extensive, with dozens of users across various platforms announcing their anger and disappointment at the company’s behavior, with many claiming that they will no longer purchase their products. To what extent this will affect Catalyst’s bottom line will not become clear for some time, though it is worth pointing out that it is a smaller tabletop gaming company that produces products that could be considered “niche.” Whatever the case, it is clear that the company’s reputation has taken yet another hit in a long line of missteps. Only time will tell if they can correct their course.
What do you think of Catalyst Game Labs banning so many Shadowrun and Battletech fans after going so political? Leave a comment and let us know.
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Catalyst will continue to step on their collective dicks as long as they let hyperventilating accusers have their way without actually investigating the situation too deeply. The company is probably already an echo chamber of what the owner wants to hear. Dissent will probably get you fired. I have to admit though, I don’t really care about their products. I run Battletech for 3025 and 3050. I only run Shadowrun 2nd edition. Their products may be useful ideas but I don’t really look at them that much.
On the fiction front, the fiction stops being good right around the time Blaine is fired. This is due to their Creative not knowing what to do while moving forward in IlClan.
We shall continue our nonaffiliated Battletech gaming and social media platforms without CGL. Fans already produce brilliant wikis, source materials, maps, custom 3D figures, digital art works and even dice! Most players don’t care much for the Post Jihad era and CGL has little direct interaction with its players organizing games and tournaments. Shrapnel magazine has started to take a dumpster dive in quality and some of the best new mech designs arent even CGLs (Iron Cheetah from a German fan and the Bullshark from Microsoft)… so really… what do we actually NEED CGL for?
CGL as a whole is going to have a really hard time organizing events, garnering support or making their bottom line with half the fandom alienated. It’s likely only a matter of time before they start seeing layoffs similar to companies like WotC, or their stewardship of the franchise will end. That’s without questions of business ethics being raised.
Sjws ruin everything