First off, thank you for reading this. This is something that I feel needs to be said and perhaps this is all in my own head but getting it out on paper sometimes is the only way to fully move forward so here we go...
As some of you know, back in January of 2024, I was removed as a content creator for kinetic games. It was messy, many bridges were burned and feelings got hurt. If you were affected by that, I'm sorry. I know many folks from that timeframe look at me now as "the rebel", "the villian", or simply asshole and have every right to do so. I was pissed because I became disliked by the community for trying to stand up for it.
I found out in January of 2024, that Psychohypnotic (one of the largest phasmo creators at the time) was abusing an exploit to post weekly challenge videos as soon as they were available. As someone who makes money off of content creation, I saw this as stealing money directly from my pocket and the pockets of everyone else rushing to post weekly challenge videos in the hopes of gaining more views, more followers and more revenue. This was like trying to race someone who was already at the finish line before the gun went off.
I posted my findings in the phasmophobia content creator discord and was surprised by the response. The devs simply admitted they gave psycho the exploit because he was going on holiday several months back and didn't want to miss a posting. Psycho at this time came forward, apologizing for using the exploit numerous times and vowed to not use it again. I persisted on the issue primarily because the phasmo content creation community was seeing a trend of Insym (another huge CC) and Psycho both using exploits and posting videos whereas folks like myself or other CCs being told if I posted exploits I'd be banned from the program. During this time, another streamer Fourgees (Now FromCollin) was banned for a month following a post he made about exploiting the game. After this incident, all I could think was: "Collin got banned for a 20 second short video and Psycho is getting away with using an exploit for monetary gain for MONTHS?!?" I was angry about the situation and didn't want the devs to sweep this under the rug.
I posed an idea, allowing ALL official CCs to use the exploit and just say "it's a perk of the program" but that was quickly shut down by CJdxn stating that no one should be using the exploit and wanting to move on from the topic. Still I pushed forward. I kept pressing the issue until DKnighter (owner of phasmophobia) came into the discussion, said we knew what he was doing and shut down the thread so we couldn't discuss it further. This was the HUGE turning point for me, because this (in my mind) showed favoritism without question and ALL I wanted was for everyone to be treated the same. I wanted everyone to have a fair shot of creating content for phasmo and either everyone have the exploit and use it to post content or no one having it. I'll be honest, I didn't think Psycho would keep his word on not using the exploit, but simply wait until the heat died down to resume posting like normal again.
I then posed another idea in the CC discord, that since the devs refused to punish Psycho AT ALL, since they refused to remove the exploit so it couldn't be used, since THEY shut down the thread to prevent talking about it further, I said I'd make a video showing how to do the exploit so the world could use it. "If everyone has it, then no one does" was my mentality. I was told by several of the devs doing so would result in my removal of the CC program and discord. Keep in mind, this was a threat made regularly by them anytime a CC did ANYTHING the devs didn't care for.
I was absolute in my decision. I called a meeting with my mod team, told a hand full of CCs what I was going to do and over the next few days, I published my video. At first, I posted the video in the Official CC videos section of the discord, to which it was immediately taken down. I posted it again, taken down. over and over again I tried posting it but was erased immediately, then boom BANNED. CJdxn messaged me asking what I was hoping to get from all of this, to which I replied "exposure" and that was the last I ever spoke to a dev. I didn't care that this got ME exposure, I wanted the world to see what was happening with the devs and a few select golden folks within the CC team. Again my entire motivation for doing this was to put EVERYONE on an equal playing field. What's good for the goose is good for the gander and I believed (and still do) that my community was large enough to make our voices hear. What happened next, I didn't expect.
My "friends", coworkers, other CCs mostly threw me to the curb simply because I had the stones to hold the devs accountable. I was publicly shamed by the majority of the CC team stating that I overreacted and that there was better ways to handle the situation. Oh really, how so? through discord messages that were shut down? through posting alternatives so we could ALL get a slice of the pie instead of a few? I'd be honestly surprised if anyone could give me a better alternative that would have had the same impact of what I did. I had mass unfollowings, people unsubscribed and left my community simply because they heard me being bashed by another CC or didn't bother to look into WHY I did what I did. Again, I'm still one of the largest phasmophobia creators out there so saying I did this for my own personal gain is stupid. History has shown that this decision has hurt me more than it helped anyone.
Some of you are reading this thinking "hell yea serves you right" to which I'll ask directly, why should I be bashed for trying to stand up for everyone else whose voice is too small to be heard? I'm not white knighting myself, of course I wanted it to be at least on an even playing field so I had a fair shake as well but that doesn't mean I acted the way I did for my own personal gain. Surprisingly a few weeks after I posted the video, a small patch was implemented making the exploit unusable. It's funny, how one person can use it for months on end with no issues and another uses it "now it's a problem" and gets patched out. (side note, it's back btw)
So that's the situation as it happened. I have screen shots on my twitter and videos backing up everything that is being said on here to show as proof that my words are true. Since that time, people have said that I'm on my "villan arc" or that I don't care anymore. This couldn't be further from the truth. I want phasmophobia to succeed, I want it to thrive and allow me and anyone else who makes content for the game to continue making money from it. My views now, are just unbiased. I'm no longer gagged by the devs and can speak my mind freely. I'd bash any game I was playing regularly for announcing console release in August 2023 and delivering it in Oct 2024. I'd bash any game for taking YEARS to come out with a new map. Make no mistake, the devs are millionaires, THEY choose to stay small because they don't have to push content regularly. They always have a reason for why content isn't being pushed. I've spoken to DK in person while drinking together in Las Vegas at twitchcon. He has personally said, he can't get his friends to put in the work to get stuff out on time.
All I've ever wanted, is for the game to have regular updates (every 3 to 4 months is well within a studios grasp for content), hold everyone to the same standard (i.e. stop playing favorites) and actually be transparent with the community and get them more involved. I've had NUMEROUS folks pitch ideas that sound amazing and would love the devs to actually hear what folks have to say.
In the end, I have this to say:
To the devs, I'm sorry for the way things ended, I'm willing to put the past behind us and move forward but I have to be me, I need to be able to be honest with the good AND the bad of phasmophobia.
To the other CCs: I have no hate or ill will against any of you. I want us all to succeed and I want us all to enjoy phasmophobia before all the drama and BS of it all. Any one of you are welcome to my chat anytime.
To The phasmophobia community: Hopefully now, you can understand why I did what I did and who I was doing it for. If you still hate me, at least I've spoken my peace and am ready to finally put this to rest. I do ask one thing of you: please hold the devs accountable. If they aren't doing something you like, voice that the same as when they are doing stuff right.
Thank you all for reading, you are loved and valued and happy holidays.
Very respectfully,
Baron