Bungie reduces communication with players due to "threats" towards staff

Bungie, the games studio that was recently acquired by Sony for $3.6B, is changing how it interacts with its players.

The decision: A Bungie employee confirmed that harassment has been received from players.

• A post on the subreddit for Bungie's Destiny franchise noted that the author missed seeing Bungie replying to players.
• One user replied frankly: "That’s what happens when developers receive harassment and death threats over a video game."
• Following another user's attempted rebuttal of the statement, Bungie Community Manager 'dmg04' explained that it was indeed a factual statement.
• "There have been real threats towards our people and our studio," said the Bungie employee. "We're taking them seriously, which is leading to an amount of reduced communications as the team plans future protections / strategies to help avoid these sorts of things."
• The employee, whose job seemingly involves interfacing with communities surrounding the company's games, revealed that they've taken time off due to "serious harassment" they and their family have received.

Sweet or sour? Bungie has a contentious relationship with some players.

• The studio filed a lawsuit against a Destiny 2 streamer, Luca Leone, earlier in July 2022.
• The suit claims that the streamer "routinely streams himself using cheats" and has been banned from playing the game as it "ruins the experience" for other players.
• It also states that Leone has made numerous threats toward Bungie and its employees, including sharing a "desire" to burn down the company's office building.
• While this is on the extreme end of a typical player-developer relationship, it's clear that the Sony-owned studio is taking the safety of its staff seriously — even on what's effectively a forum in Reddit.