We may earn a commission when you buy through links in our articles. Learn more.

Destiny 2 developer says harassment makes it harder to talk to fans

Destiny 2 community manager says harassment makes it difficult for Bungie to speak with fans, following incidents with Twilight Garrison, and Sony’s God of War

Character from Destiny 2

Destiny 2 community manager DMG says that cases of harassment have “actively made it harder” for Bungie to speak with its fan community, and has called for more people to “stand against” harassment behaviour.

As originally reported by Forbes, DMG’s comments are sparked by a Destiny 2 player suggesting that Bungie host a weekly “PvP chat”, where the developer takes questions and listens to feedback from the game’s community. Though DMG does not respond to that suggestion directly, he does comment on the general relationship between game developers, and some aspects of their fan communities.

“I dream of a day where videogame developers (from any studio) can openly discuss their work without being harassed,” DMG writes. “Many in the comments say they do not condone harassment. I hope they also stand against it when they find that friends or family are engaging in it.”

In June, Destiny designer Kevin Yanes confirmed to fans that Twilight Garrison, an exotic from the original game, would not return with its Titan air dash ability. That confirmation prompted backlash from fans, and Yanes has since removed it from Twitter, though a closed Reddit thread of community responses remains online.

In the same month, Estelle Tigani, a cinematics producer on Sony Santa Monica’s upcoming God of War: Ragnarok, revealed that they had received unsolicited nude images from fans, offered in “exchange” for confirmation of the game’s release date. This led to the studio issuing an official statement, urging the fan community not to let their passion for the game “become toxic nor come at the expense of any human being’s dignity”.

As well as Bungie, DMG comments on how harassment has impacted community relations at other development studios.

“Cases of harassment against our developers have actively made it harder for us to communicate with the broader community. It has impacted more studios than just ours. I hope that more folks can stand against this behaviour in any community, whether it be gaming related or other.”