THQ Nordic AB co-founder and CEO Lars Wingefors has issued a statement regarding subsidiary THQ Nordic's Ask Me Anything event on the anonymous imageboard 8chan, apologizing and condemning the board's "unethical content." Windefors takes full responsibility for the event in his statement, asserting that he has run an internal investigation into it and that, "every member of the organization has learned from this past week's events."

The apology comes six days after THQ Nordic hosted a question and answer event on 8chan, an imageboard previously blacklisted from Google for "suspected child abuse content" and publicly known for hosting boards tied to harassment, bigotry, and political extremism. When previously asked about the incident, Wingefors referred the media to the AMA's host, PR and marketing manager Philipp Brock, who issued their own apology after the AMA had ended.

Wingefors' statement proves a marked shift from his previous dismissal. While he doesn't address certain aspects of the controversy, including accusations that the THQ Nordic team chose to host its AMA knowingly and as an endorsement of the site's political leanings, it does show that parent company THQ Nordic AB is taking the situation seriously. Nevertheless, it appears that the company is taking no further action regarding the AMA and that all employees involved will continue in their current positions without consequence.

According to Wingefors' statement, THQ Nordic AB's focus going forward will be on implementing new "policies and systems". These will be used to prevent "mistakes" like the 8chan AMA from happening again.

"I have spent the past several days conducting an internal investigation into this matter. I assure you that every member of the organization has learned from this past week's events. I take this matter very seriously and we will take appropriate action to make sure we have the right policies and systems in place to avoid similar mistakes in the future."

He follows up that promise by clarifying that THQ Nordic AB supports "equality and diversity". He also states that the company is working actively to "combat discrimination, harassment, and misconduct."

It's unclear if Wingefors plans to follow-up further on the issue. However, considering both he and Brock have issued apologies, it's unlikely that the 8chan AMA will be mentioned officially by THQ Nordic again. Considering the breadth of the controversy and the lack of a response regarding Brock and company's specific inappropriate comments made during the AMA, even Wingefors' apology is unlikely to sate frustrations with the Darksiders 3 publisher's decision-making.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz