Destiny 2 wins $400,000 lawsuit against man who threatened employees

earthpressnews

Destiny 2 developer Bungie has recovered nearly $500,000 in a lawsuit against a player who threatened company employees. An employee said after the verdict that this was a strong message to everyone that harassing and threatening developers and employees can have serious consequences.

What are the incidents? The lawsuit, in which Bungie has now recorded a victory, was launched in August 2022.

At the time, Bungie released a tweet introducing a well-known content creator and live streamer named “Uhmaayyze”.

  • Popular in the American Destiny community, Uhmaayyze is known for coming up with rap lyrics while livestreaming the loot shooter via Twitch, which Bungie paid tribute to.

    • However, a day after this publication, Bungie received several threats via an anonymous Twitter account, even threatening to kill employees. Destiny 2 community manager Dylan Gafner alias dmg04 and his family were particularly affected by this, who was the direct contact for players for years and had to take a break due to these incidents and later even resigned from Bungie.

    The lawsuit has now resulted in the nearly $500,000 judgment, which also marks an important turning point in the fight against such behavior against game developers. Online harassment in all forms has been a major problem for developers for many years.

    Destiny 2 shows new insights into Strang – The Focus in Lightfall in its trailer

    More videos

    This is how hatefully the player proceeded: The trial revealed the hate expressed against Bungie and its employees.

    The person referred to himself as “Brian” and identified himself as a member of a right-wing social network. However, his hatred was not only focused on Bungie as a developer, but also specifically on community manager Dylan Gafner, aka dmg04.

    On Reddit, user zoobrix outlines the despicable course of these acts:

  • The perpetrator obtained home address and phone numbers so he could send verbal racist and abusive text messages repeatedly referring to a “[N-Wort]-Killing” related. He also stressed that he knew where they lived.
  • Some messages also included cruel requests, asking the community manager if Bungie could add options that would allow him to kill black people in Destiny 2.
  • He also abused the services of a local pizza company to send out a carefully tailored physical threat within minutes of his digital harassment. So he ordered a pizza to the address of his victims and the pizza delivery man was supposed to knock “at least five times” and very loudly. To accomplish that, he stated when ordering, “I’ll probably wear headphones.”
  • He also requested that the order be paid for on delivery, hoping to set off disagreements between the Bungie employee and the delivery driver.
  • Late that night, minutes after bizarre verbal threats had been made, a stranger suddenly and loudly knocked on the Gafner family’s door. Mentioned here is another voicemail shortly after delivery which read “enjoy your pizza”.

    • Dylan Gafner was also forced to take time off work after the harassment, and Bungie filed a lawsuit. On the one hand, to hold the perpetrator liable for the damage caused by his sociopathic behavior, on the other hand, to ensure the safety of his employees.

    Official acknowledgment of harm from hate and threats

    Kathryn Tewson went to court for Bungie over escalating harassment

    Perpetrators can be held accountable more quickly: Kathryn Tewson, a paralegal involved in the case, shared more information on Twitter. She notes that harassment is “a terrible problem,” especially in gaming communities.

    But it reassures them that the ruling that Bungie has now won will also allow official judicial recognition of damages caused by threats and harassment in the future.

    It’s a clear signal that game developers can rely on in future online harassment cases to seek compensation in civil court for employee harassment for common offenses such as harassment and invasion of privacy.

    Bungie’s legal victory could mean that the gaming industry slowly but surely begins to take more serious action against harassment and threats.

    And Dylan Gafner, who probably gave up his job at Bungie because of this burden, thanks Kathryn Tewson via Twitter.

    Destiny 2: Community Manager dmg04 is leaving Bungie after facing personal hostilities in 2022

    Bungie therefore communicates less with players

    All players pay this high price for it: Currently, no gaming community is free from any form of online harassment. And the Destiny 2 developers seem to have to put up with it a lot.

    The bitter aftertaste of this hatred and threats against developers and employees is that Bungie has drastically restricted its communication with all players because of it.

  • Bungie said they take threats seriously, which leads to less communication while working as a team to implement security and protection measures to prevent it in the future.

    • Destiny 2: Bungie explains why they hardly talk to the fans anymore – unfortunately they have very good reasons

    One such safeguard is the faceless and impersonal Destiny2Team Twitter account that Bungie now uses to share Destiny 2 information. And in hindsight, many players preferred a personal contact. He was in the middle of the community, reacted much more often and was also a keeper himself who had the same problems as her.

    Many players regret this course. However, they also agree that toxic behavior must have consequences and that it is everyone’s responsibility to build a positive and respectful community.

    Perhaps this verdict is therefore an important first step towards a safer and more inclusive gaming culture, in which gamers can once again focus on what really matters: playing and sharing fun and happiness with one another.

    What do you think of Bungie’s legal victory? And do you think this ruling will make a difference and help make the gaming community safer and more respectful? Feel free to share your thoughts in our comments.

    Some players in Destiny 2 have had enough of all the hate and doom complaints from the community because they just want to play in peace:

    Destiny 2: Players annoyed by eternal doom fantasies: “How many times does the opposite have to be proven?”

    mmod-game