Limited Run games specializes in the release of small print runs of games, for those who prefer physical discs and cartridges as opposed to game downloads. The company name itself is a reference to this business model, as their games are available in a limited quantity for a short time.
Limited Run Games has published hundreds of titles since the company’s launch in 2015. The games are sold on a pre-order basis on their website. But if the backlash following their recent termination of an employee is any indication, Limited Run Games may be a limited run company. As it is, they only have a one-star rating on TrustPilot and an F rating with the BBB, so it’s not looking good.
To top it off, a good employee of theirs was very publicly shamed for having personal opinions that Limited Run Games apparently identifies as wrongthink. What happened was, on January 6th Limited Run Games’ community manager Kara Lynne was fired just because one mean trans activist complained about her following some conservative accounts on her personal Twitter account.
Jessica Blank, a trans woman who uses the pseudonym “Purple Tinker,” threatened to spark a boycott against Limited Run Games over Kara. Blank said: “Unless and until she is fired from the company permanently, I am not giving them another single dime.”
Blank complained that Lynne’s “transphobic follows” included Libs of TikTok, which shares videos made by liberal social media users, YouTuber Blaire White, and right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheung. The fact that this, now former, employee also followed non-conservative social media accounts was conveniently ignored!
It’s the trans BULLY who should have been fired, but obviously the management team at Limited Run Games are cowards. Lynne was dismissed just hours after the complaint was made. Lynne wasn’t even in the office at the time – she had stayed home because she was sick – so they let her go over the phone!
Limited Run Games put out a statement claiming it “respects all personal opinions, however we remain committed to supporting an inclusive culture” – except its actions show that it’s NOT all-inclusive since it didn’t respect Kara Lynne’s opinions, and therein lies the problem. Can’t they even see how hypocritical their statement was?
After the news broke, Limited Run Games had to disable commenting on their social media pages, as most replies on Twitter and elsewhere were rightly filled with denouncement of the company for kowtowing to a bully.
Ironically, Kara Lynne said that she kept politics to herself at work, not pushing her beliefs onto others. “I always tried to stay neutral,” Lynne explained. She later described herself as not political but a “values person” who had no issues with the beliefs of her peers as long as they don’t hurt others. Her philosophy is “You do you, I’ll do me, and we’ll all be happy,” she said. Lynne stated that she had never even interacted with Purple Tinker.
Lynne believes the complaint was triggered because she tweeted her excitement about the release of a new Harry Potter-themed video game, which some people have threatened to boycott because of J.K. Rowling’s views about trans issues. Lynne thinks her support for the game caused Blank to look at her Twitter account in more detail and then complain about what she found.
Unlike the bully who goes around looking for people to attack online, Lynne’s social media accounts would “hype up” her friends, pictures of pets, art, and promote other “positive vibes.” She’s such a nice person that she surprisingly says she holds no grudge against Limited Run Games for firing her!
“I wasn’t angry with them,” Lynne revealed in an interview on YouTube. “From a PR perspective, being in a marketing position, you’ve gotta understand where they were, where they’re having to come from with this. While I wish they would’ve had my back, I can understand and try to rationalize it a little bit about why they didn’t.”
Lynne even says she’s “thankful that they picked me, because I know I can get through it. I know I’m strong enough, I know I have the support system to get through something like this.”
Lynne is confident that she’ll have “other opportunities,” even though she has no idea what they will be at this time but she’s sure she’ll be able to “figure it out.”
Kara Lynne sounds like a really nice person with a good head on her shoulders, and we wish the best for her. Any company would be lucky to have such a great employee. She doesn’t even bad-mouth the company that fired her for such a stupid reason!
In conclusion, Kara said, “They didn’t want the bad publicity and I can understand that. Unfortunately, I feel like that backfired on them.”
Isn’t that the truth! So, Limited Run, are you happy that you’ve still got Jessica Blank’s business even though you lost hundreds of other customers???
I’m guessing that Limited Run Games will soon be declaring bankruptcy like Bed, Bath & Beyond did after cancelling all MyPillow products from its stores.
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