AI Summary
This video discusses the recent hiring of Jerome Benzadon as Head of Global Communications at Shift Up, the developer of Stellar Blade and Nikke. The creator expresses concern that Benzadon's history with DEI and ESG initiatives, and his previous roles at Sony PlayStation, Ubisoft, and THQ, may signal a shift toward censorship and forced inclusivity in Shift Up's games.
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Shift Up had built a strong reputation for good PR, with the CEO retweeting fan art and not caring about cancel culture or criticism of attractive female characters.
Jerome Benzadon was announced as the new Head of Global Communications at Shift Up, a move the creator calls 'one of the worst decisions imaginable'.
Benzadon's bio initially highlighted DEI and ESG, but he removed these mentions after the announcement, which the creator sees as an attempt to hide his agenda.
Benzadon has 13 years of experience with Sony PlayStation, and has also worked with Ubisoft and THQ, companies the creator claims have pushed agendas and watered down games.
The creator describes the hiring as a 'canary in a coal mine'—a red flag that could indicate future censorship or forced politics in Shift Up's games.
This role involves marketing Stellar Blade and Nikke, communicating with overseas audiences, and catering to inclusivity, which the creator believes often leads to negative outcomes.
The creator outlines two scenarios: Benzadon could publicly reject his past work (a green flag), or he could remain silent and gradually introduce changes to Shift Up's projects.
The creator hopes this is not the beginning of the end for Shift Up, but expresses uncertainty about the company's direction.
The creator is deeply concerned that this hiring marks a turning point for Shift Up, potentially leading to censorship and forced inclusivity in their games. They hope Benzadon proves them wrong but remain skeptical.
Mentioned in this Video
Study Flashcards (5)
Who was hired as Head of Global Communications at Shift Up?
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Who was hired as Head of Global Communications at Shift Up?
Jerome Benzadon
00:28
What did Benzadon remove from his bio after the announcement?
easy
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What did Benzadon remove from his bio after the announcement?
Mentions of DEI and ESG
00:55
How many years did Benzadon work with Sony PlayStation?
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How many years did Benzadon work with Sony PlayStation?
13 years
01:07
What does the creator compare the hiring to?
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What does the creator compare the hiring to?
A canary in a coal mine
02:04
What are the two possible directions the creator outlines for Benzadon?
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What are the two possible directions the creator outlines for Benzadon?
He could publicly reject his past work (green flag) or remain silent and gradually introduce changes.
03:37
💡 Key Takeaways
Hiring of Jerome Benzadon
This is the central event that triggers the entire video's discussion.
00:28Benzadon's industry background
His history with major publishers is used as evidence of a potential agenda.
01:07Canary in a coal mine metaphor
This metaphor encapsulates the creator's fear of future censorship.
02:04Two possible outcomes
This provides a balanced view, acknowledging the possibility of a positive outcome.
03:37Full Transcript
[00:02] this morning? Like I did not want to see this. Like shift up that's had just so much good PR. They have had the CEO retweeting fan art of E basically not caring about cancel culture, cancel mob, and people upset with attractive female
[00:15] characters. They didn't care and it was just like non-stop based commitments that we saw from ShiftUp and the CEO of Shift Up. But for some reason, the company decided to make one of the worst decisions imaginable and hired an
[00:28] individual that has actively been harming gaming for over a decade. Don't it was announced literally yesterday that this individual called Jerome Benzadon, he is now being hired at ShipUp as the head of global
[00:42] communications. The reason why this is very important and why this is bad news, negative bad news this morning, is profile, literally yesterday when this was announced, is that he had focus on
[00:55] was announced, is that he had focus on DEI and S or ESG in his bio. And then when people started to discover this, he removed it to try to hide the entire you look at now. If you go to his profile, the point here is is that this
[01:07] individual has actively been working with Sony PlayStation for 13 years. This man has also been working with Ubisoft and THQ, companies that have been actively pushing different agenda, narrative, and watering things down,
[01:21] different stuff like that, really ruining gaming for a while now. And the point here is is that for some reason, Shift Up that has been all about good PR. They've had non-stop good PR. They have been on basically the OG gamer side
[01:37] and everything. They decided to hire one of the worst people imaginable that has actively been pushing these type of things to cause different games to be censored to force politics into it. It's just like why would you do that? Like
[01:51] just like why would you do that? Like it's a it's a big red flag. Now I need to make sure I clarify this before I go any further. Obviously, at this time, there is no direct mention of censorship and all of that, but the point here is
[02:04] is that this is a a canary in a coal mine. When you put a canary in a coal not and then it, you know, just dies. This is kind of like that situation. It's like you're releasing a canary in a coal mine to see if something bad's
[02:17] going to happen. And in this case, that is what this is. This is a red flag because it's like out of anyone that Shift Up could have hired that could have been a part of this job to be head of global communication, why would you
[02:30] hire an individual that has been non-stop about DEI and ESG? Like I I just I don't even understand why you would do something like that because it's like let me put this in perspective of what head of global communication
[02:45] means. It means that they're going to be basically all about the marketing of Stellar Blade and Nikkeay. It's going to be about them communicating with people overseas. Basically trying to cater to people and make sure it's like inclusive
[02:57] and everybody likes the product and all like like stuff like that. And we have been down this road. We know what happens when we have localizers or communicators that try to be a vocal piece for companies that are overseas.
[03:10] It turns out very bad. It it's not a good situation whatsoever. I mean, let's look at anime for instance, how anime and manga is treated. This is not a good thing. I think that in general, a man having this type of stuff in his
[03:23] description and then trying to hide it and basically not even mention it a day later, I think really does say a lot. But the point here is is there's two different directions that this can go. Okay, the first direction is that um
[03:37] this individual Jerome uh Jerome Benzadon, he comes out swinging basically saying he doesn't give a crap about what he used to work on. He upon and whatever. If he makes an official statement like that, then
[03:50] obviously that would be a very good green flag showing that he really wants to keep the integrity of what Shift Up is, what Nikki is, and what Stellar Blade is. I think that would be great to prove everybody wrong instantly. But the
[04:04] man might try to be silent or say certain things trying to not really talk about it too much and then we start to see gradual changes and shifts within Shift Up and also Stellar Blade and their other projects that they work on
[04:18] because I don't know why someone like this that's been communicated with PlayStation for so long would get such a role like this when we know what those roles can do to a company. So yeah, like this is just what what what a opening
[04:33] today. Like what did I wake up to, man? I did not want to see this. I hope this isn't like the the the actual beginning of the end for Shift Up. I I really hope not, but we'll have to see. Honestly, I just I hope that Jerome Benzadon, he
[04:49] about that anymore. He proves himself and I'll be like, you know what, good man, we forgive you and all that. I I I hope. But we shall see. So, I will leave it at that. If you enjoy my content, please subscribe. It helps me out a lot.
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