In an announcement posted to the game’s official discord, a Sea of Stars developer announced that a cameo of Jirard Khalil, better known as gaming YouTuber “The Completionist,” would be removed from the game. “Jirard the Constructionist” was an NPC that provided additional buildings for the town of Mirth when given certain items.
The message on Discord reads:
“A small patch will be going live on Steam and be submitted to consoles soon to replace the builder NPC in Mirth.
“We arrived at this decision after carefully monitoring events over the past few weeks, and while it is not our place to pass judgment, we do make it a priority to maintain a positive and optimistic space that reflects the spirit of our intentions, be they creative or otherwise.
“As always, we appreciate your support and trust you to respect our decision while keeping the tone of the conversation in line with the essence of what makes our games and our community what they are. Thank you.” - Sea of Stars Discord
Khalil was known on video and streaming services for reviewing games after completing them in their entirety, including optional tasks. He was accused this month of withholding much of over $600,000 of charity funds solicited from over a decade of fundraising events, and he has since posted an explanation video, though many deemed this insufficient. Since then, he has stepped down from the board of his family’s charity company, The Open Hand Foundation, and declared his indie company will no longer engage in charity.
In Sea of Stars, “The Constructionist” was an important NPC for optional content, allowing players to help a small town grow by bringing him building construction plans. Khalil was likely chosen because he was seen as a key community member for the game, as he featured it over much of its development cycle and spoke with developers in interviews.
