No more jokes in Destiny 2. After players repeatedly issued threats against Bungie, the developer is now making a clear statement. Not only against hate but also against fraud. The developer filed a lawsuit against a streamer who allegedly committed “serial fraud,” threatened employees multiple times, and wanted to “burn down” Bungie’s headquarters.
What kind of lawsuit has Bungie filed? The lawsuit, which was filed on July 15 in a district court in Washington, targets the 17-year-old Destiny 2 player and streamer “MiffysWorld”. Also known as “L.L.” from Los Angeles.
At Bungie, it was initially assumed that he was “just” another cheater, from whom legal action was wanted after 13 bans and no insight. However, the investigations revealed much more.
It turns out that “MiffysWorld,” who also operates under the Twitter handle “inkcel,” apparently even publicly threatened to “burn down” Bungie’s headquarters. And that was not even the worst thing that was discovered.
Bungie currently accuses him of several offenses. He has practically committed “serial fraud”:
- The Destiny 2 player and streamer supposedly created numerous accounts to continually circumvent the multiple bans against him.
- He also traded and sold non-transferable items, including some items that Bungie created for charitable purposes, which constitutes a violation of the software license and the terms of use of Destiny 2.
- He apparently also traded Destiny 2 emblems via stolen social media accounts.
Besides these allegations, it is especially the noticeable large hatred towards Bungie as a game developer, which is explicitly mentioned in the lawsuit against the streamer. Despite the bans on his accounts, he just keeps going.
Shows pride on Twitter without remorse and insight: Particularly noticeable is his great discontent against the employees of Bungie, which is now explicitly mentioned in the lawsuit against the streamer. After almost 13 bans against his accounts, he became increasingly personal and spread his hatred openly on Twitter.
As he wrote, as reported by the website Torrentfreak, for example:
Bungie will NEVER be able to stop me if I persist in my actions. Let’s just remember that it all began with a clip of me flying with [infinite ammo] and an aimbot. And then let’s stop responding.
L.L. according to TorrentFreak allegedly said
Public threats against Bungie employees: Besides the breach of Bungie’s licenses through his excessive cheating, “L.L.” also gets personal. He specifically threatened Bungie community manager Dylan Gaffner, alias dmg04 on Twitter.
On May 18, 2022, he posted a picture of dmg04 on Twitter and wrote: “I just realized that I will be moving to a place [in Seattle] that is 30 minutes away from dmg [Gaffner] – he is not safe.”
The lawsuit also mentions that he not only made these personal threats. His underlying goal also seems to have been to “burn down” Bungie’s headquarters.
This case is not the first time players have unleashed their anger against the developer. Some players in Destiny 2 were so frustrated and angry about the PvP mode “Rift” in early June that they became toxic towards Bungie employees. Most recently, it was an Exotic armor piece for Titans that sparked an uproar and renewed hatred.
This sensitive penalty awaits the streamer now: His actions have far-reaching consequences, as all his actions, according to Bungie, were intentional.
- The lawsuit demands “the destruction of all cheat software in the possession of the defendant”
- “The deletion of all Destiny 2 and Bungie accounts that the defendant has created.”
- Approximately 2500 euros in damages for each case in which “MiffysWorld” used cheat software in Destiny 2.
- Or alternatively, a claim for about 147,000 euros “for each infringed copyrighted work.”
What does the Destiny 2 community say about this? Most players welcome Bungie’s actions. Especially since it not only sends a clear statement against cheating but also against hate.
Good, people need to finally learn that threats and harassment cannot just be accepted and that there are consequences!
writes player @AD2P_Twitch via Twitter
This opinion is shared by Shiro, who is also tired of seeing many players get away with hatred and threats without consequences. He writes on Twitter that he is “tired of seeing people get away with threatening developers’ lives because they can’t control themselves.”
However, there are also other voices in the community who mainly view the young age of the defendant “L.L,” who streamed online under the name “MiffysWorld,” as critical. For example, player Ungren-3 says:
He shouldn’t have done it, but he also shouldn’t have his life ruined for it.
Why is this lawsuit so important? It has certainly happened before that Bungie has been forced to take legal action. For example, when the developer goes after cheat developers again, who then give in and pay 1,900 euros for each cheater.
But it no longer just targets “the big shots”. The developer is now also taking a strong stance against player actions, that aim to “teach Bungie a lesson”. For example, when they impersonate employees of Bungie’s trademark protection service to provoke YouTube strikes against known Destiny streamers.
This case also shows that the developer is simply no longer willing to tolerate everything. Especially to protect its employees, who stand in the midst of the community and are far too often exposed to the direct hatred of toxic players.
As dmg04, Bungie Community Manager, explained in response to his colleague Drew Tucker, Co-lead Accessibility at Bungie, via Twitter:
It was a difficult situation. Confronting abuse and trying to stop it while potentially causing even more harm to oneself (and to the people one cares about), or silently putting up with endless harassment? I hope the ongoing discussion about harassment in the gaming industry leads to actions, improvements, and healing. For employees, for community members… for everyone.
dmg04 comments as an affected Bungie employee on the situation on Twitter
What do you think about the lawsuit? Did Bungie do the right thing? Or do you think this was just a childish joke by a young player that should simply be tolerated by game developers? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
