Penguin Colony makes its position clear before players have even settled into the game. Developed by Origame Digital and published by Fellow Traveler, the title combines the Antarctic survival atmosphere of March of the Penguins with the cosmic-horror influence of H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness.
Image credit: Fellow Traveler.
Its opening land acknowledgement establishes the developers’ values immediately, rather than leaving that message to a social-media post or a separate statement. The approach is unusually direct for a game, and it gives the political context of Penguin Colony a clear place within the experience itself.
The game also includes a statement supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, commonly known as BDS. The developers have backed those words with a specific commercial decision: Penguin Colony is not available for purchase in Israel.
The decision follows other recent examples of game developers and industry figures being pressed to address the war in Gaza and the wider issue of solidarity with Palestine. Members of Geoff Keighley’s former Future Class sent an open letter to The Game Awards asking for attention to the issue, but it was not addressed there. The developers of Big Walk have also said that BDS was why their game was not sold on Xbox.
Image credit: Steam.
A player located in Israel asked about the regional restriction in the Penguin Colony Steam forum. A publisher representative replied that developers should be able to decide where their games are sold. They confirmed that Origame Digital had requested the block and said the publisher supported the decision as an act of solidarity with Palestine, particularly in the absence of broader, organised sanctions.
For readers interested in how games, platforms and arcade culture intersect, RETROCADE’s Arcade Blog covers more industry news and gaming commentary.
Image credit: Origame Digital.
What distinguishes Penguin Colony is the consistency between its message and its actions. The land acknowledgement, the in-game BDS statement and the decision to restrict sales in Israel all communicate the same set of values through the game itself and its distribution.
That can make a player consider how personal beliefs connect with everyday choices, including where they live, how they move through the world and where they spend money. Penguin Colony asks those questions plainly, with its penguins and their creators turning a small game release into a visible statement of solidarity.
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