CD Projekt Red's Franchise & Lore Designer Is Former Games Journalist Who Wants To Punch Gamers
CD Projekt Red’s Franchise and Lore Designer Cian Maher is a former writer at TheGamer who has made it clear he does not like gamers and even wants to punch them.
YouTuber The Reviewer: Wild Take investigated Maher’s history and specifically a number of posts he made to X where he shared his desire to commit violence against gamers and expressed his disdain for them.
The Reviewer: Wild Take first noted that Maher’s video game career did not begin in development work, but he was an Associate Editor and eventually Lead Features Editor at TheGamer.com from September 2020 to December 2021.
He then became the Associate Editor at GLHF Entertainment AB, which describes itself as a '“company [that] provides best-in-class written and video content to some of the world’s biggest publishers.”
He only stayed there for 4 months before becoming games consultant in August 2022. He then joined CD Projekt Red in April 2023.
READ: Naughty Dog Fan Site Trashes Gamers As "Narrow-Minded Idiots"
Next, he began digging into his post history on X by doing simple key word searches for “gamers” and others which quickly populates how much disdain he has for gamers.
In July 2022, he shared a Bernie Sanders meme that reads, “I am once again asking for you to stop being toxic little weirdos.”
In June 2021, he wrote, “law school being easier than dealing with gamers says everything anyone needs to know about this gig lmao.”
In December 2020, he complained that being a games journalist was difficult, “the thing i find funny about gamers complaining about how good games journalists have it is, like... if you think this job is so incredibly well-paid (it's not) and easy (it's not), why don't you just do it yourself”
In November 2020, he posted, “the gamers are already bad enough.”
READ: 'Civilization VII' Gets Roasted After It Announces Harriet Tubman As Playable Leader
In January 2020, he indicated he wanted to punch gamers.
In August 2020, his arrogance was on display. He responded to Inverse writer Mark Hill, “don’t worry, we are the true gamers.”
As The Reviewer: Wild Take also points out he has no qualms praising massive lore breaking shows such as Netflix’s The Witcher and The Rings of Power despite his job being a Lore designer, which one would assume is to stay true to the lore.
Concerning Rings of Power, he wrote in 2023, “Tolkien fans obsessed with ‘accuracy’ are so f***ing weird. ‘Nobody cares about this adaptation’ — why do you care about any adaptation then? The only reason you're upset about Rings of Power is because ‘critiquing’ it allows you to pretend your vitriol and bigotry have value.”
To no surprise, he’s projecting as in his next post he claims that Sam has brown skin, “What's also funny is that most of the loudest Tolkien ‘fans’ online constantly tell on themselves You've read the books, yeah? Cool, so you know Sam has dark skin. How accurate was it to cast Sean Astin then? What's that? Speak up please, I can't hear you — where are you going?”
Regarding, Netflix’s The Witcher show, he wrote, “Annoys me when people say Netflix's Witcher writers don't respect the lore. They have made sweeping changes, yes. Some of them have been questionable, others have been outright bad. But it is crystal clear that they love and respect Sapkowski's books. That is a lazy criticism.”
READ: Boycott Called For Against 'The Witcher 4' And 'Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet'
He also is a proponent of transgender ideology so much so that he now dislikes the Harry Potter novels because of author J.K. Rowling’s political stance on the issue.
“The thing that will never cease to amaze me about people who tirelessly defend Harry Potter is that they'll say, ‘But you used to like it, you just don't like it anymore because you disagree with JKR's brazen transphobia’ and it's like... Yes? Why would I need any other reason.”
“I kind of get the nostalgia and cultural attachment. I was at midnight launches for the books as a kid and watched the films more times than I can count. But it's very weird to say ‘This thing I liked as a child, and everything adjacent to it no matter how immoral, is infallible,’" he added.
In September 2023, he wrote, “If you are an adult who loses their mind at the concept of pronouns, which everyone, everywhere, throughout all of history has used every single day, there is something wrong with your life but it's not what you think it is. The Wokes aren't out to get you. You're just a clown.”
“I honestly feel sad when I see people who have very clearly lost the ability to think because they have been swallowed whole by some inane grift,” he continued. “It is absurd that people can be so far gone that they will publicly go berserk at the sight of the word ‘they,’ or even just ‘pronoun.’"
“This isn't really a new or even worthwhile observation, but people online are way too obsessed with other people's lives and choices. Who gives a shit what anyone else is doing once they're content and not harming anyone. Let people be happy and mind your own business,” he concluded.
READ: Voice Actor For 'Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet' EXPOSED As Another LGBT Activist
He’s also defended DEI policies and even calls it “essential to hiring in editorial today.”
In a thread from May 2022, he wrote, “Unfriendly reminder that anyone who responds to calls for diversity with ‘How is this fair? Hiring should be based on skill’ usually has no skill whatsoever. If you claim you can't get a job because you're straight and white, I'm sorry -- you can't get a job because you're s***e.
“People would rather be bigoted and blame the fact they're straight white men on their inability to get a job than, you know, the fact they're not quite as good a writer as they'd like to think (which, ironically, is a byproduct of unfounded straight white man confidence),” he asserted.
Maher continued, “I'm a straight white man. I have *never* been unfairly considered for a job, but I've definitely benefited from my privilege -- particularly when it comes to confidence. The people who lambast diversity efforts are just looking for ways to excuse their lack of talent. Simple as.”
“I will also stress that diversity is absolutely essential to hiring in editorial today,” he declared. “How can you claim to accurately or meaningfully cover *anything* if your team is just a bunch of dudes who all look the same having beers in the office? Let's be real here.”
“By the same token, hiring diversely means you can't just hire one person and call it a day,” he stated. “Outlets categorically need people from all different backgrounds and cultures if they want any chance of offering worthwhile commentary on the zeitgeist. This is very easy to understand.”
“This won't change until more people speak up about it,” he wrote. “There are still so many ‘writers’ who claim they can't get work because they're straight white guys, when in reality, they can't get work because they can't write. As long as they believe the former tho, toxicity will fester.”
“Last point: This happens in games because lads who grew up playing Mario reckon they *deserve* a job. They're not worried about writing or critical thought or journalistic knowledge -- they're worried about their dream gig going to more talented, hardworking people. That's all.
“Anyway, f**k this bollocks,” he concluded. “If someone ever tells you, ‘I didn't get the job because I'm straight and white and they were hiring to meet a quota,’ stop what you're doing, look them in the eye, and in the most impolite way possible, say ‘No, you didn't get it because you’re s***e.’"
What do you make of Maher’s comments and the fact that he is CD Projekt Red’s Franchise and Lore Designer?
If the dude hates gamers, why is he in the games industry? It seems like he'd have better luck as a lawyer. He could deal with only the people he wants to deal with.
To answer the last Question "What do you make of Maher’s comments and the fact that he is CD Projekt Red’s Franchise and Lore Designer?": RIP Witcher 4