I think it goes without saying, but today has been an extremely hard day. I really appreciate your patience as I looked into things.First off, I would like to apologize to everyone at BioWare and EA. I have already reached out to them to let them know the truth. We already have plans to sit down and have a conversation about it. That is my gameplay. It was never my intention for clips of Dragon Age to get released ahead of the embargo lifting. I had shared these two clips of the game with an editor of mine. It is to my understanding that these clips were then taken, shared again, and went down the chain to someone far removed from the both of us who then posted them claiming to be associated with me. So, yes, the clips are mine. If BioWare, EA, or any other game company chooses to not work with me over this, then I fully understand and accept that. If you, the viewers of my content, choose not to trust me because you deem me irresponsible with the privilege I was given as a game reviewer, I also fully understand and accept that.With that said, it’s extremely important for me to firmly shut down one element of this narrative going around about me. Whoever shared these clips on X with the attached hateful comments and replies is NOT me. I have no clue who runs that account. They are most definitely not my friend and they stand against everything I believe in. I am only speculating, but I think whoever took my game footage and tweeted it as if they were connected with me was quite deliberate as it’s an easy way to paint me in a bad light. Beyond any guesses I may have, I would never leak my own footage on an alt account and then use that exact same footage in my review. Said account no longer exists and it is my understanding that it is because it was reported multiple times following the public ridicule it rightfully received. There's no room for that type of hate.It also needs to be said that I have not deleted any comments on my review. I believe as a consumer of media, you have a right to call someone out on bullshit or say what you feel. I do have preset words for my channel filters that fall under racist, homophobic, etc. terms that automatically get caught by YouTube’s moderation system, but that’s it. I know I can’t convince each and every one of you, but I do think you all deserve an explanation. At the end of the day, my circle of trust was breached and it was my fault for sending a clip in the first place.I’m deeply disheartened by the amount of people who believed that this Twitter account was me. I don’t expect blind loyalty yet it hurts to see just how quickly I was thrown under the bus. The sad reality of it all is the damage is done and many people have made up their minds about me today.Since I have started covering this game, many angry opinions have fallen in my lap. When I played the preview, I thoroughly enjoyed it and had a chance to interview the game’s director, Corinne Busche. On that video, people were sending hate my way because they wanted their opinions heard. Now, I have put out my honest and objective review and people are still unhappy with my personal opinion. It has always been my goal to deliver fair, honest coverage of video games and elevate the conversation, not fan the flames. I’m deeply sad that my clips have played into the detraction of a game that, as stated in my review, others may enjoy more than me. Looking at the OpenCritic score, I’m glad to see it is that way. It’s been a tough cycle for the folks at BioWare and to know I played a part in the pain of the developer who made my favorite games ever is a regret that I don’t think I will ever live down, even if people choose to forgive me.I want to thank my wife, my best friends, and my LSM family who hung with me and didn’t lose faith in me. The statements made about my character today have broken my heart into a million pieces. I don’t say that so you feel bad for me, I just feel it’s important to give my love to those who willingly stood by me in the face of all this. I know it wasn’t easy having your ethics in question just by being in my vicinity.Lastly, I am not going anywhere. I will be continuing to make content about games across MrMattyPlays, Retro Rebound, and Defining Duke. I will also continue to pretend I know what I’m talking about when it comes to movies on Retro Rewind. Hopefully, I will see you there. If not, thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you have a good rest of your day.Stay sexy, stay active,Matty
