Dev says offers to change the trailer were “ignored”
BAFTA said the reason it pulled an indie game trailer from last weekend’s 2026 BAFTA Games Awards was a “compliance decision.”
Discussing the issue on LinkedIn, developer Alyx Jones said they “got a phone call telling me that the trailer for my indie game The Quiet Things had been pulled” on the way to the nominee’s party.
The game is described as an autobiographical narrative adventure inspired by the developer’s own diaries, and its Steam store warns of themes of self-harm, suicide, sexual assault/non-consensual sex, and childhood abuse.
“For the last two weeks, I’d been working hard to cut this trailer together while already badly burned out, because I believed this was the biggest opportunity we were ever likely to get,” Jones explained. “I was so hopeful that this tiny indie game might actually be seen by a huge audience. Finally, a break.”
Jones was told the trailer couldn’t be shown as there wasn’t enough time to put the appropriate trigger warnings in place, and said her suggestions to make “immediate further changes” were ignored.
“What has upset me so much is not just the decision, but how this happens to me over and over, doors close because the subject matter might upset people or make them uncomfortable,” Jones added. “I’ve stayed quiet to maintain relationships. I’ve taken the hits. I’ve tried not to burn bridges. I’m sick of it.” Jones then appended the trailer to the LinkedIn post.
Responding to press requests for comment, BAFTA said: “We made a compliance decision not to show a trailer of an unreleased game that contains themes that may be a trigger for some, in consideration of our guests as we were not in a position to sufficiently warn them.
“We fully support games that engage with difficult subjects, and we made the decision in relation to our event only and with the wellbeing of all guests as our priority.”
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip said trailers might be considered for future instalments of the BAFTA Games Awards. “Sneak peeks is something that we absolutely wouldn’t rule out, but we would always ensure that if we include it, it’s because we’ll have taken an editorial view on it,” she said. “There wouldn’t be a commercial gain to us in showing a trailer, that’s what we would ensure.”
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Dispatch were the standout titles at last week’s BAFTA Awards, with both taking home three awards. You can find the full list of winners right here.
Mentioned in this article
