To sell itself as a hyper-realistic tactical shooter, Ready or Not, a game in which players command a SWAT unit, will feature a map in which they'll respond to a swatting incident.
The game, developed by VOID Interactive, was heavily criticised in 2021 for revealing that it will include a mode tackling touchy subjects like active shooters in schools. As a result, publisher Team17 and VOID parted ways in December of that year.
It seems that the Irish-based studio isn't stopping with its contentious themes with the announcement that, coming alongside the 1.0 version of Ready or Not, a new mission in which players responding to a swatting incident discover an illegal Bitcoin farming ploy will be added to the game.
Swatting map to come with Ready or Not 1.0
On June 29, developers VOID Interactive posted a YouTube video unveiling their latest map that will debut with the release of Ready or Not 1.0. In other words, it will launch as soon as the tactical shooter leaves early access.
In this level, players will respond to a prank call made by a fan of content creator Michael "Milky Toes" Williams, with the intent of disrupting his live stream.
VOID Interactive explains:
While Milky Toes yells at his mother to get out of the frame, the SWAT team arrives, only to be welcomed not by Michael, but his illegal Bitcoin farm.
What is swatting?
Those types of prank calls, where fans of big public figures (mostly streamers and online public figures) are known as swatting and can prove incredibly harmful to innocent people. In the case of Ready or Not, it seems the developers are trying to justify the call by adding the Bitcoin farming scheme angle. Still, it's nonetheless a delicate matter for many streamers and content creators.
Big personalities such as Félix "xQc" Lengyel, Apex Legends pro player Phillip "ImperialHal" Dosen, and dozens more have been victims of swatting. For the most part, no major incidents have occurred.
Sadly, there have been instances of swatting ending tragically, such as the case of Andrew Finch, who was killed after a SWAT unit responded to a prank call following an argument over a Call of Duty match in 2019.
Things have escalated to a point where the FBI recently announced they're creating an online database to track instances of prank calls better and differentiate them from real threats.
The Ready or Not take on swatting doesn't have a release date yet aside from the fact that developers promised it will launch with the 1.0 version of the game. This could be next week, next month, or even next year.
As soon as we know more about it, we'll update you accordingly.
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