As reported by Kotaku, Bohrdom, the chemistry/physics simulation developed by suspected White House Correspondents' Dinner shooter Cole Allen Thomas, has been pulled from sale on Steam. The suspected Trump shooter's game recently experienced a massive wave of new purchases and reviews following the incident involving US President Donald Trump.
These reviews were largely political in nature, with users flooding the forums to post jokes or express specific political opinions. While the store page, forums, and existing reviews remain visible, the ability to purchase the title has been disabled.
Analyzing the Removal of the Suspected Trump Shooter's Game
It is currently unclear whether Valve removed the game or if a representative acting on Thomas' behalf initiated the removal. We have reached out to Valve for comment and will update this story if we hear back.
The sudden change in status for the suspected Trump shooter's game could be attributed to several factors:
- A spike in politically charged activity following the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
- Potential breaches of Valve's moderation norms regarding organic sales.
- Precedent set by Valve removing "toxic" titles, such as the gladiator sim Domina in 2022.
Valve has shown an increasing willingness to take a heavy hand with platform moderation due to pressure from various organizations. This follows a history of banning games that use their platform for trolling or hate speech.
Review Manipulation and Steam Refunds
There is also a more prosaic explanation for the sudden activity on the suspected Trump shooter's game. Many of the recent reviews show less than 30 minutes of playtime, suggesting that users may be abusing Steam's refund window to post political memes before getting their money back.
This pattern of behavior effectively delegitimizes the recent spike in activity. If players are rushing to write meme reviews without actually engaging with the software, it provides a strong reason for Valve to intervene and disable sales.
