In the shooter “Ready or Not,” there is now a new level where the nightmare of every streamer comes true.
Which game is it about? Ready or Not (PC) is both a hardcore shooter and a realistic police simulation. The game was released in December 2021 on Steam and aims to depict the operations of a police special forces unit.
Accordingly, you have to free buildings from different dangerous situations with your SWAT team in various PvE levels. Tactical approach and attention are always important, as not all people in the buildings are villains. If you are too quick on the trigger, you might hit a hostage or other civilians – and that results in point deductions.
Since the game relies on realistic approaches, you cannot run through rooms and shoot at everything that moves like in Call of Duty. You need to carefully open doors, scout rooms, and eliminate enemies selectively.
It is actually better to arrest a criminal alive, even if he is heavily armed. The game provides you with various gadgets like flashbangs that you can carry during mission planning.
What is the deal with the blue-haired streamer? Ready or Not is known for wanting to be as realistic as possible in the design of its levels and creating situations that could also happen to real police officers. The shooter also takes paths that some players consider controversial.
At the end of June, the developer studio VOID Interactive introduced a new level where players storm the apartment of a blue-haired streamer named Michael “Milky Toes” Williams with their heavily armed police unit.
Michael lives with his mother and is live when suddenly the SWAT team breaks into his home. According to the level’s description, a viewer told the police on the phone that he was the streamer and wanted to kill his family and take hostages. However, instead of encountering an armed streamer, players with their SWAT unit find Michael’s illegal Bitcoin farm.
The Nightmare of a Streamer as a Level
What is the background of the level? The level involving the streamer alludes to the so-called “swatting,” a very malicious and dangerous prank suffered by many major streamers. For example, the American Ice Poseidon was swatted on a plane. Other streamers like Nickmercs reported being swatted 3 times a week.
What is swatting? Swatting describes a situation where viewers call the police and tell a serious lie to prompt them to show up heavily armed at the affected streamer’s location.
The police then deploy a special unit (S.W.A.T.) and expect to find a highly dangerous situation at the scene. This can involve alleged hostage situations, bomb threats, or similar claims.
In addition to the obvious danger posed by the armed police operation in combination with the lie of a highly dangerous situation, the dangerous prank can also have psychological consequences. For example, streamer Ice Poseidon has stated that he developed post-traumatic stress disorder due to the many police incidents.
