Gamers Outraged As Sweet Baby Inc Reportedly Calls Cozy Games 'Colonialist' And Slams White People, Nuclear Families And Even The Gregorian Calendar
Slides from the 'Game Devs of Color Expo' event surfaced online, sparking heated debate over whether farming cycles, families, and seasonal structures are harmless gameplay or political propaganda.
Summary
- Sweet Baby Inc sparked backlash at the Game Devs of Color Expo with a talk on decolonizing cozy games.
- Slides reportedly criticized white characters, nuclear families, farming cycles, and even the Gregorian calendar.
- Critics accuse the consultancy of pushing ideology to sell services, while supporters defend its focus on representation.
The latest controversy in gaming doesn’t come from a new console war or a broken launch. It comes from a conference talk that allegedly took aim at white people, nuclear families, farming mechanics, and even the Gregorian calendar.
Yes you read that right.
A session at the Game Devs of Color Expo reportedly featured Sweet Baby Inc’s Tristan J. Tarwater discussing the idea of “decolonizing cozy games.”
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And the internet reaction? Predictably EXPLOSIVE. 🤯
The Talk
According to coverage shared online, the presentation explored how cozy games, titles often centered on farming, crafting, or community building, can reflect colonialist values through their mechanics and stories.
Slides from the talk reportedly criticized recurring elements like farming families, four-season cycles, and nuclear family structures.
One slide allegedly included the phrase “so many white people” when describing character representation in these games.
The talk framed decolonization as “a creative process of imagining what cultures would look like if not disrupted by exploitation.”
In other words it wasn’t just about tweaking gameplay loops, but also about rethinking the cultural assumptions baked into seemingly innocent mechanics like planting crops or celebrating seasonal festivals.
And, of course, Tristan gave examples of ‘GOOD’ games such as Tales of the Shire*, Fields of Mistria*, Saltsea Chronicles*, and Wanderstop*.
* Apparently these are examples of what should be done in games of this type according to the presentation of Sweet Baby Inc.
Tap the images below to zoom in 👇
Why Cozy Games?
The choice of cozy games as the target raised eyebrows. These titles usually get described as relaxing alternatives to big action shooters.
Farming, fishing, and chatting with villagers hardly scream “imperialist propaganda.”
Yet critics at the event argued that these mechanics still reflect Western norms. They claimed things like seasonal farming cycles and family structures reinforce capitalist or patriarchal values.
For ‘marginalized players’, the argument goes, that can feel less cozy and more alienating.
The pushback from gamers online has been blunt, “if you don’t enjoy cozy titles, there are thousands of other genres.”
Complaining that Stardew Valley rewards players for completing tasks is, as one commentator put it, “like calling Mario a wage slave because he has to jump on Goombas for coins.”
The White People Slide
Of all the talking points, none generated more outrage than the alleged “so many white people” slide.
Screenshots circulated online claiming that Sweet Baby Inc criticized the overwhelming whiteness of cozy game characters (see below).
Some people say that comment itself crosses into racism. Defenders counter that it’s a clumsy but valid critique of limited diversity in games.
Either way it became the headline takeaway, overshadowing deeper questions about mechanics and cultural framing.
Nuclear Families and Calendars
The talk also took aim at what it described as “nuclear family and two-gen family structures,” suggesting these reinforce a narrow cultural model.
The Gregorian calendar even came under fire.
Presenters allegedly argued that time systems in games reflect colonial dominance. For some watching, this was the point where things went from controversial to surreal.
One sarcastic reaction summed it up:
“Gamers don’t even know what the word outside means, and now we’re supposed to rewrite calendars?”
Religion and “Spirituality Is Silly”
Another lightning rod was a slide reportedly stating “spirituality is silly.” Online reaction was swift, with critics calling it dismissive of religious players.
To be fair, the context remains unclear. Some people might argue the phrase was shorthand for how spirituality is trivialized in certain game narratives.
So without the full context, speculation is driving much of the discourse.
But still, in an industry where faith is rarely discussed at all, dismissing spirituality outright is guaranteed to ignite controversy.
Business Motives?
Beyond the specific slides, skeptics accuse Sweet Baby Inc of using these arguments to sell consultancy services.
The pattern, some critics claim, is to highlight hidden cultural “problems” in game design and then pitch themselves as the solution.
“They try to convince companies there’s a problem just so they can sell their services and make money.”
Do you think that’s a fair description or an overly cynical?
Now Sweet Baby Inc has indeed worked with major studios, and projects like Tales of the Shire have been connected to them.
Supporters might frame their work as expanding representation in games while other people call it ideological grifting.
Well…
Locked Behind Paywalls
Adding fuel to the fire, many Sweet Baby Inc talks are reportedly kept behind paywalls or exclusive watch parties.
So gamers suggest this is intentional, limiting scrutiny of controversial ideas.
But you might argue this is simply a way to monetize labor in an industry that often undervalues creative consultants.
Ok…
But either way, the secrecy around these sessions only adds to the mystique, and the outrage.
Reactions
Reaction across social platforms has been intense. Many are laughing at what they see as over-intellectualized critiques of harmless games.
Memes circulated about “decolonizing Animal Crossing” and “revolutionary fishing mechanics.”
Others see the outrage as overblown, pointing out that no one is forcing developers to adopt these frameworks.
Talks at conferences often lean academic, and not every slide is meant to dictate mainstream design.
However when consultancy groups like Sweet Baby Inc work directly with studios, even small ideas can ripple into major titles.
And that’s where the real friction lies.
Industry Impact
This isn’t the first time Sweet Baby Inc has come under fire. The company has been tied to debates about narrative direction in AAA games, with critics accusing them of pushing political messaging at the expense of entertainment.
Some developers defend them as bringing fresh perspectives into an industry often criticized for being stale and homogeneous.
Others argue the complete opposite, that the studio’s influence alienates core audiences and hurts sales.
At the end of the day, game studios are businesses, and they’ll pay for whatever advice they think will help them reach new audiences.
Now whether that advice improves or sinks a game is a gamble each publisher takes.
My 2 cents
What this episode really highlights for me is how fragmented gaming culture has become. On one side, you have players who just want escapist entertainment.
On the other, activists and consultants pushing for games to reflect different lived experiences and cultural frameworks.
When those sides collide, we get headlines about “decolonizing cozy games” and “attacks on nuclear families.”
The Sweet Baby Inc talk has become a Rorschach test for the gaming community.
For a lot of people, it’s proof of ideology creeping into every corner of entertainment. For some others, it’s a bold attempt to challenge assumptions we rarely question.
And for everyone else, it’s probably just really confusing, especially when the conversation drifts into colonialist calendars and whether farming in Stardew Valley is secretly oppressive.
What’s certain is that Sweet Baby Inc has once again found itself at the center of controversy.
The gaming studio behind Concord just made headlines again, but this time it wasn’t for a flop, it was for firing a staffer who allegedly mocked Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
