Zombie shooting game set in San Francisco's Tenderloin taken offline after backlash

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A video game portraying San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood as a zombie battlefield was taken offline Friday after drawing backlash from city officials and residents.

A trailer for the game, "Tenderloin Night Shift," depicts San Francisco as the setting for a mission involving shooting zombies.

"It's vile. It's not representative of the Tenderloin," said Jared Stearns of the Tenderloin Museum.

The game focuses on Eddy and Jones Streets. Tenderloin resident William Duffy expressed disbelief over the game.

"It's a shooting game. Oh, isn't that great. Isn't that what we need. The crime rate is very low right now," Duffy said.

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The backlash prompted the game's developer, Pierre-Louis Biojout, to take "Tenderloin Night Shift" offline Friday afternoon, saying the way the game was promoted showed "poor judgment."

"Targeting people struggling with addiction or homelessness was never my intention," the developer said.

The game also drew comparisons to conditions in the Tenderloin in 2024. Video from U.N. Plaza at night showed people hunched over using drugs. At the time, a resident described the sidewalk outside his Tenderloin home as "a zombie land."

San Francisco Supervisor Bilal Mahmood said the neighborhood has improved since then.

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When asked how the city is addressing issues in the Tenderloin, Supervisor Mahmood said, "We have been working on a range of components. One is public safety. We know there is open drug market, and we have been pushing for increased enforcement and we have seen results. Over the last two years, we have largely shut down a lot of the open air drug markets."

Rene Colorado, executive director of the Tenderloin Merchant and Property Owner's Association, said he has also noticed changes in the neighborhood.

"I noticed the improved streets. They are cleaner, but there are still a lot of folks suffering from mental illness, suffering from addiction," said Colorado.

The creator of "Tenderloin Night Shift" said the game had been taken offline and that he "refunded all advertisers, and made a personal donation to Delancey Street equal to the game's total revenue."

Full statement from Pierre-Louis Biojout on X:
"I built and posted a zombie game set on San Francisco streets. The setting and the way I promoted it showed poor judgment. Targeting people struggling with addiction or homelessness was never my intention. I've taken the game and promotional posts down, refunded all advertisers, and made a personal donation to treatment and recovery services by Delancey Street equal to the game's total revenue."