Match-3 Devs Face Criticism for Disturbing Advertisements

Microfun, Nanobit, and Magic Tavern are facing criticism for their match-3 game advertisements, which often depict women being mistreated by their partners, leading a U.K. news outlet to label them misogynistic.

A report by Sky News has brought these disturbing advertisements into the spotlight, highlighting their shocking nature. One ad for Project Makeover, a game by Magic Tavern, portrays a woman’s partner dumping sand on her to force a makeover. The woman then says, “Bye, dad,” implying the sand was her father’s ashes.

Ads for Gossip Harbor and Hollywood Story follow a similar format, depicting women suffering mistreatment from their partners or, in the case of Hollywood Story, misrepresentation.

These advertisements violate the guidelines of the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority, which prohibits “gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious, or widespread offence.”

Microfun, the developer of Gossip Harbor, told Sky News that they have removed the ads in question and are reviewing their policies to ensure content appropriateness. Nanobit, the company behind Hollywood Story, argues that their advertisements are intended as lighthearted, fictional scenarios. Magic Tavern, the creators of Project Makeover, has declined to comment.

According to Sky News, the three games collectively garnered 67.7 million downloads last year and generated a global revenue of $367 million through in-app purchases.