A developer from DICE involved in Battlefield 2042 has spoken out on Twitter appealing to the community. Apparently, there have been death threats against the developers after the shooter has been struggling with numerous issues.
What’s going on? Since November 12, the early access phase of Battlefield 2042 has been running. However, the initial launch was very mixed, as the shooter has numerous issues in the form of bugs, glitches, and design weaknesses. These include, for example:
- The “broken” spread of assault rifles
- The spawn bug, where players cannot be revived or respawned
- Hovercrafts are so OP that they can simply drive up the walls of skyscrapers
- And many other things that are missing or do not work as many players would like.
Numerous fans of the Battlefield series seem to have been so driven to frustration that they felt compelled to send death threats to developers on social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit, or to demand their dismissal. Now, a developer is fighting back.
Who has spoken out? The tweet is from Sam Hayter, game designer at DICE and for Battlefield 2042. He addressed fans via his Twitter page:
“I understand that people can be frustrated about a game they are passionate about… But issuing death threats against developers or studios is just not acceptable, folks… please get a grip.”
Death threats and demands for dismissal against Battlefield developers
How are players reacting to the appeal? Most see criticism of Battlefield 2042 as justified, but to express it in the form of violent calls and such things is simply wrong. Most think it’s better to threaten with a refund than with death.
The tweet from Hayter is also being discussed in the subreddit for Battlefield 2042, which is known to be particularly critical of the game and DICE. Here, many players are understanding, though some also wonder if these death threats really exist.
The tweet from game designer Hayter is underscored by a statement from a moderator in the subreddit for Battlefield 2042: “[Death threats] have happened many times. We remove them as quickly as possible and ban these people. If you look at the state of this subreddit, we obviously allow constructive criticism, but there is no tolerance for any kind of harassment, insults, or witch hunts” (via reddit.com).
Nevertheless, there are also some outliers such as “You have insulted and ignored customers enough. You do not deserve compassion” (via Twitter.com) or “The funny thing is that DICE tends to ignore constructive criticism since BF3. I also doubt that there are actual death threats” (via Twitter.com).
Some see it merely as a tactic to distract from the state of the game. However, the past shows that death threats are a common problem in the gaming industry:
- The developers of Cyberpunk 2077 received such threats after the botched release.
- In the case of Spider-Man: Miles Morales, there were death threats, because the face of the actor for Peter Parker was changed.
- Some WoW writers received death threats after a Sylvanas cinematic.
Over the last few years, there have been numerous examples of such toxic behavior. A prominent example from the same company as Battlefield 2042 is EA’s failed loot shooter Anthem. It was released in 2019 in a deplorable state.
Initially, the game was supported, similar to Battlefield, by an active and engaged community, especially in the subreddit. In particular, community manager Jesse Anderson was very active.
After several months and many more problems, the subreddit became increasingly worse and more toxic (via ScreenRant.com). Posts against developer BioWare became rampant. The developers also almost completely ceased their communication.
How things will go with Battlefield 2042 remains to be seen. The actual release on November 19 and the following weeks will show whether EA and DICE can turn things around.
According to insider Tom Henderson, three updates are planned alone in the first three weeks. What exactly these will fix is still unclear.
What do you think of the topic? Do you think it’s good that Sam Hayter is publicly standing up for himself?
