Tech founder criticized for vibe coding game about shooting 'zombies' in San Francisco's poorest neighborhood
A tech founder faced backlash for a web game depicting zombie shootings in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, prompting its removal and ongoing criticism.
Pierre-Louis Biojout, founder of Y Combinator-backed AI startup NanoCorp, released a free web-based shooter game called *Tenderloin Night Shift* set in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, a neighborhood plagued by homelessness and open drug use. In a now-deleted X post on October 13, Biojout stated, 'San Francisco couldn't fix the Tenderloin. So I monetized it [as a] Call of Duty style zombie shooter on the real SF streets,' adding that he had already earned $300 from in-game advertisements. The game was removed from NanoCorp’s website following the controversy.
The game’s characters included what were described by local media as a 'folded' fentanyl addict and a Black security guard, drawing sharp criticism from San Francisco residents and leaders. Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the SF Coalition on Homelessness, told the *San Francisco Chronicle* that Biojout was 'monetizing the dehumanization and pretend killing for fun of mostly Black and Brown residents of the poorest neighborhood in San Francisco.' Biojout later claimed in a statement to the *Chronicle* that he had not intended to 'provoke or to depict shooting real people' and noted the game also featured tech workers as characters.
The controversy escalated on social media, with critics accusing Biojout of trivializing addiction and homelessness by framing vulnerable residents as 'zombies' to be shot for entertainment. One tech founder responded, 'You made a game about shooting people in active addiction. These are human beings, not zombies.' Biojout defended the game’s premise, arguing, 'Why are you talking about addiction? It's a zombie shooter,' while some commenters dismissed the criticism entirely.
Despite Biojout’s attempts to clarify his intentions, the discourse surrounding *Tenderloin Night Shift* persisted, with some users defending the game’s controversial theme. One commenter wrote, 'They are currently NOT human beings,' while another suggested using the game to 'train in bro's game' before visiting San Francisco. The game’s removal did not quell the debate over its appropriateness or the broader implications of its design choices.