THQ Nordic Apologizes For Controversial 8Chan Interview

Growing publisher THQ Nordic is in serious trouble after making the bizarre decision to host an “Ask Me Anything” interview on 8chan; a website that has previously been delisted by Google over objectionable and illegal content. 

This strange story seemingly begins when THQ Nordic PR and marketing director Philipp Brock decided to host an AMA on 8chan. This AMA came from Brock’s official account and was referenced by THQ Nordic’s Twitter account. That Twitter account even called out some of the fans that were questioning why THQ Nordic would host an AMA on 8chan and asked them to reconsider their decision. One post even referred to those fans as “sensitive simons.”

If you’re not familiar with 8chan, consider that a good thing. However, you need to know that the reason this is such a big deal is that 8chan has been known to host child pornography, posts of extreme racism, extreme violence, and other content which is either objectionably offensive or simply illegal. THQ Nordic’s Twitter account even referenced getting rid of the “nasty stuff” in their own AMA, even if it’s not clear exactly what content they were referring to. 

While Brock quickly issued an apology in which he claimed that “I do not condone child pornography, white supremacy, or racism in any shape or form.” He also states that he didn’t do his “due diligence to understand the history and the controversy of the site.” However, others have pointed out that this seems unlikely as Brock directly referenced some of the objectionable content shared throughout the AMA related to the implied assault of children and seemed to understand what the site’s shorthand for such references meant. 

Developer Coffee Stain Studios later stated via the Twitter account for one of their upcoming games that the THQ Nordic that agreed to host this AMA and promoted it is not actually the THQ Nordic which runs the overall company. However, there seem to be some disputes regarding this suggestion as the THQ Nordic Twitter account that promoted and defended the AMA has regularly promoted statements and works from the THQ Nordic parent company. 

This is quite the roadblock for THQ Nordic which has otherwise drawn positive headlines for their acquisitions of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Nickelodeon titles, Carmageddon, and other notable licenses. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014.