Summer Games Fest found itself in an awkward situation this week after accidentally tagging a gay porn Twitter account in an announcement about the game Scum Island.
The major gaming showcase event, helmed by industry veteran Geoff Keighley, intended to promote the new update or standalone title related to the survival game SCUM, but ended up directing followers to very different content instead.
The social media mishap happened when the Summer Games Fest account tagged “@SCUM” in their post rather than using the game’s official handle. Unfortunately for the event organizers, that particular Twitter handle belongs to an account that posts explicit gay pornographic content, creating an immediate stir among viewers who spotted the error.
Screenshots of the blunder spread rapidly across social media platforms, with gaming communities quick to point out the mistake. Many users responded with humor, with comments suggesting that the team “should have used a hashtag instead of an @” and joking about whether this was an “accidental” promotion during Pride Month.
This isn’t the first time a major gaming event has suffered from livestreamed mistakes. The pressure to post quickly during live events often leads to errors, but tagging an adult content account during a showcase that attracts viewers of all ages is definitely a major goof.
Summer Games Fest, which kicked off in 2020 as a digital alternative to E3, has become a go-to event for game announcements and trailers. The high-profile nature of the showcase means even small errors grab lots of attention. As of now, there’s been no official word from Keighley or the Summer Games Fest team about the mix-up.
SCUM, the game actually being featured, is a multiplayer survival game developed by Gamepires. The so-called Scum Island announcement was likely meant to highlight new content for the game, but the social media error has briefly stolen the spotlight from whatever news was supposed to be shared.
