From Wiki:
Gamergate controversy
“GamerGate” redirects here. For the type of ant, see Gamergate. For the online video game store, see GamersGate.
Gamergate (sometimes referred to as GamerGate or as a Twitter hashtag #gamergate) is a controversy in video game culture concerning long-standing issues of sexism and misogyny in the gamer community and journalistic ethics in the online gaming press, particularly conflicts of interest between video game journalists and developers.[1][2][3][4][5][6] The controversy came to wider attention due to harassment that indie game developer Zoe Quinn received after an ex-boyfriend posted allegations on his blog in August 2014 concerning her personal life that led others to accuse her of professional impropriety to obtain positive media coverage for her game. Those subsequent allegations were shown to be false,[a] but the debate they sparked continued.[8] Other topics of debate have included perceived changes or threats to the “gamer” identity as a result of the maturing and diversifying of the gaming industry.[1][2][3][4][5]
Cultural changes within the gaming industry, gaming community, and gaming journalism, are seen as having contributed to the situation in which the controversy has occurred. The rising popularity of the medium, and greater emphasis on games as a potential art form, has led to a commensurate focus on social criticism within gaming media and indie works. This shift has prompted opposition from traditional “hardcore” gamers who view games purely as a form of entertainment. However, this opposition has often been expressed in the form of personal harassment of female figures in the industry rather than constructive cultural conversations. The harassment campaign against Quinn was of such ferocity as to attract significant mainstream media attention, which focused on the sexist, misogynistic and trolling elements of the gamer community. Allegations of impropriety in gaming media have prompted policy changes at several of these outlets, and commentators generally agree that problems in the gaming media need to be discussed. However, the harassment and misogyny associated with GamerGate is seen as having poisoned the well, and the choice to focus the campaign on a relatively-obscure independent developer rather than AAA publishers has led to questions about its motivations.
They were?
Summary: boyfriend accuses Zoe of trading sex for favorable reviews. Things unravel, and the whole sorry mess of "journalism" as it involves gamers became revealed.
Good article on the whole thing
And, no, just because an accusation is disputed does not make it "shown to be false".