Destiny-2 developer Bungie has won nearly $500,000 in a lawsuit against a player who had threatened employees of the company. An employee stated after the verdict that this sends a strong message to everyone that harassing and threatening developers and employees can have serious consequences.
What incidents are we talking about? The lawsuit that Bungie could now celebrate triumph in was initiated in August 2022.
At that time, Bungie posted a tweet introducing a well-known content creator and livestreamer named “Uhmaayyze.”
- Uhmaayyze is popular in the American Destiny community and is known for coming up with rap lyrics while livestreaming the loot shooter via Twitch, which Bungie acknowledged.
However, a day after this announcement, several threats were sent to Bungie from an anonymous Twitter account, even threatening the murder of employees. Specifically, this affected Destiny-2 community manager Dylan Gafner aka dmg04 and his family, who had been the direct contact for players for years and had to take a leave of absence due to these incidents and later even resigned from Bungie.
The legal dispute has now ended with the nearly $500,000 verdict, which also marks an important turning point in the fight against such behaviors towards game developers. Because online harassment in all forms has been a major problem for developers for many years.
This is how hate-filled the player acted: The proceedings revealed how abhorrent the hatred against Bungie and its employees was expressed.
The person identified themselves as “Brian” and claimed to be a member of a right-wing social network. However, their hatred was not only directed at Bungie as a developer but also specifically at community manager Dylan Gafner, aka dmg04.
On Reddit, the user zoobrix outlines the appalling sequence of these actions:
- The perpetrator obtained private addresses and phone numbers, so he could send verbal racist and abusive text messages in which he repeatedly referred to a “[N-word] killing.” He also emphasized that he knew where they lived.
- Some messages also included cruel requests in which he asked the community manager if Bungie could add options allowing him to kill people with dark skin in Destiny 2.
- He also misused the services of a local pizza company to send a carefully crafted physical threat minutes after his digital harassment. He ordered a pizza to the address of his victims and instructed the delivery person to knock “at least five times” and especially loudly. To achieve this, he noted in the order: “I will probably be wearing headphones.”
- Additionally, he demanded that the order be paid upon delivery in the hope of causing disagreements between the Bungie employee and the delivery driver.
- Late at night, minutes after bizarre verbal threats, a stranger suddenly and loudly knocked on the door of the Gafner family. Another voicemail mentioned shortly after delivery said, “Enjoy your pizza.”
After the harassment, Dylan Gafner had to take a leave of absence from work, and Bungie filed a lawsuit. On the one hand, to hold the perpetrator accountable for the damage caused by his sociopathic behavior, and on the other hand, to ensure the safety of its employees.
Official recognition of harm caused by hate and threats
Perpetrators can be held accountable faster: Kathryn Tewson, a legal assistant involved in the case, shared more information on Twitter. She notes there that harassment, especially in gaming communities, is “a terrible problem.”
Yet, it reassures her that the verdict Bungie has now won allows for an official judicial recognition of damages caused by threats and harassment in the future.
It sends a clear signal that game developers can refer to in future cases of online harassment to seek compensation in civil court for the harassment of employees under typical offenses like harassment and invasion of privacy.
Bungie’s legal victory could thus ensure that the gaming industry slowly but surely begins to take more serious measures against harassment and threats.
And also Dylan Gafner, who likely quit his job at Bungie due to this burden, thanks Kathryn Tewson via Twitter.
Bungie communicates less with players because of this
All players pay this high price: Currently, no gaming community is free from any form of online harassment. And the Destiny-2 developers seem to have to deal with it particularly often.
The bitter aftertaste of this hatred and threats against developers and employees is that Bungie has therefore drastically restricted its communication with all players.
- Bungie stated that it takes threats seriously, leading to less communication while working as a team to implement safety and protection measures to prevent this in the future.
One of these protective measures is the faceless and impersonal Destiny2Team Twitter account, with which Bungie now shares information about Destiny 2. And many players preferred having a personal contact afterward. They were at the heart of the community, responded much more frequently, and were also themselves a Guardian who faced the same issues as they did.
Many players mourn this turn of events. However, they also find it right that toxic behavior must have consequences and that it is the responsibility of each individual to create a positive and respectful community.
Perhaps this verdict is thus an important first step towards a safer and more inclusive gaming culture where players can refocus on what really matters: playing and sharing fun and joy with each other.
What do you think of Bungie’s legal victory? And do you believe this verdict will change things and help make the gaming community safer and more respectful? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Some players in Destiny 2 have had enough of all the hate and doomsday complaints from the community, as they just want to play in peace:
