The story game “The Quiet Things” was supposed to be announced at the BAFTA Game Awards on April 17, 2026. The day before, however, the organizers canceled the planned presentation of the new Steam game.
What is “The Quiet Things” about? The new narrative game from Silver Script Games tells the autobiographical story of studio founder Alyx Jones, focusing on abuse and childhood trauma. The story, lasting about 6 to 8 hours, is based on real diary entries and police records, providing a time travel back to the year 2000.
On Steam, it states: “The Quiet Things is not just a game; it’s about giving survivors a voice. Alice’s story is also the story of many others who will never be heard. By addressing topics like childhood abuse, self-harm, and suicide, we aim to combat shame and spark conversations. Together we are stronger.” The release is planned for June 4, 2026, on Xbox and Steam.
The moving trailer sets the stage for what to expect in “The Quiet Things”:
The planned announcement on a big stage falls through
Why is BAFTA canceled? Alyx Jones apparently learned just the evening before that the planned trailer premiere during the BAFTA Award Show on April 17, 2026, would fall through. On linkedin.com, the developer writes:
In the last two weeks, I had worked hard to edit this trailer together, even though I was already severely burned out, as I believed this would be the biggest chance we could ever get. I was so hopeful that this tiny indie game could actually be seen by a huge audience. Finally, the breakthrough.
The fact that it was pulled from under us the evening before the show was devastating – especially since I had revised the trailer specifically to remove footage that BAFTA had marked as potentially “interpretable as weapons and violence” (an object inspection of a utility knife and a statue breaking out of a mirror), and after I had even been thanked for my speed and the quality of the trailer.
BAFTA reportedly cited the difficult subject matter of the game or the lack of time to appropriately place warnings for the audience as the reason for the last-minute cancellation. Alyx Jones responded with the suggestion to include a suitable warning herself or make other changes. There apparently was no further response to this.
What upset me so much is not just the decision itself, but the fact that this keeps happening to me: doors close because the subject matter might disturb or cause discomfort to people. I have stayed quiet to maintain relationships. I have taken the hits. I have tried not to burn bridges.
I am fed up.
The Quiet Things is deeply personal to me. It is my story. It’s about trauma, abuse, survival, and about giving survivors a voice. It is about people being silenced and what that does to them. So, it is profoundly painful to have to relive this right now.
Alyx Jones on linkedin.com
The developer further criticizes that BAFTA officials publicly flaunt their support for games dealing with difficult and challenging topics, only to make a frustrating exception for “The Quiet Things”: “That was very hard to bear.”
In response to Kotaku, BAFTA officials have now addressed the criticism: “We made a compliance decision not to show the trailer of an unreleased game containing potentially triggering topics, out of consideration for our guests, as we were unable to warn them adequately. We fully support games that tackle difficult themes; this decision was solely about our event, with the well-being of all guests being our priority.”
Alyx Jones has also commented on the incident on tiktok.com:
Alyx Jones ultimately published her trailer herself and expresses on linkedin.com a request: “Please watch the trailer and decide for yourself whether BAFTA was right to withdraw it. If you can help to increase its visibility in any way, it would mean so much to me and everyone who worked on the game.”
As part of a demo, you can already get an impression of “The Quiet Things” on Steam and add the game to your wishlist.
Max “HandOfBlood” Knabe has also brought more Steam tips for all interested parties at the FYNG Show at CAGGTUS 2026. So far, his label Sidekick Publishing has shown a good knack for choosing the games it supports. You can find his current projects here: HandOfBlood takes on Maurice Weber, then shows 3 indie games you should keep an eye on
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