Hit JRPG Sea of Stars removes donation-collecting NPC based on YouTuber The Completionist following charity fraud allegations
Dec. 18, 2023Sea of Stars' developer wants to maintain “a positive and optimistic space”
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The developer of retro JRPG-inspired indie hitSea of Starshas announced it is replacing an NPC based on YouTuber The Completionist following recent charity fraud allegations.
On December 15, Thierry Boulanger of Sabotage Studios shared with the game’s Discord server that it would replace the NPC Jirard the Constructionist to “maintain a positive and optimistic space.” This comes after it was alleged that YouTuber The Completionist, on whom Jirard is based, was involved in charity fraud.
In the post, Boulanger writes: “A small patch will be going live on Steam and be submitted to consoles soon to replace the builder NPC in Mirth. We arrived at this decision after carefully monitoring events over the past few weeks, and while it is not our place to pass judgment, we do make it a priority to maintain a positive and optimistic space that reflects the spirit of our intentions, be they creative or otherwise.”
The post continues: “As always, we appreciate your support and trust you to respect our decision while keeping the tone of the conversation in line with the essence of what makes our games and community what they are. Thank you.”
According to theSea of Stars Wiki, in the aforementioned patch, Jirard has been replaced with a generic NPC called Bob, who does the same thing as the original character.
For context, Jirard ‘The Completionist’ Khalil is known for hisYouTubevideos where he plays and reviews a variety of games to 100% completion. The Completionist is also known for his charity work, most notably his work with the Open Hand Foundation and the charity event IndieLand - which showcases indie games and highlights indie developers to raise money for the dementia research-focused charity.
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Understandably, fans of Sea of Stars are now not happy with Khalil’s involvement in the game and have openlydiscussedthat they want the NPC to be removed from the JRPG - which developer Sabotage has now done.
After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training. My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I’m also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.
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