Bungie, the game developer behind the hit live-service title Destiny 2, has won a lawsuit against a player who subjected a staff member to a torrent of abuse. The court today ordered the defendant to cough up a hefty $489,435 in damages, marking a crucial win in the ongoing battle against online harassment.
The lawsuit was triggered by a series of incidents where the Destiny player, Jesse James Comer, targeted a Bungie community manager with a barrage of abusive messages and unsolicited deliveries.
Comer sent the employee a number of disturbing voicemails, including one in which he asked them to add an option in Bungie games to make it so that only colored people would be killed. He also insisted he knew where they lived, threatened them, played incredibly loud noises to rile them up, and even used their phone number to order pizza to their home in an attempt to incite an altercation between the employee and pizza delivery driver.
Following the harassment, the Bugie employee took time away from work.
It was so severe the court deemed it an unfair trade practice impacting public interest, which saw it fall under the scope of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act.
The biggest takeaway was the court recognized a new tort outlawing cyber and telephone harassment, which is groundbreaking because it means developers can hold players who act like this accountable, as explained by Kathryn Tewson, one of the attorneys involved in the case, via a series of tweets on July 12.
The ruling also highlights how important it is for companies like Bungie to protect its employees from foreseeable harm, even when working from home. This is particularly relevant in today’s climate, where remote work has become the standard for many industries, including gaming.
It’s a massive step forward in the fight against online harassment in the gaming industry for two reasons. First, it sets a precedent for future cases, and second, it serves as an important reminder that players should think twice before acting like this if they don’t want to face serious legal repercussions.
Related: All games made by Bungie
Online harassment, in all forms including doxxing, has been a blight on the gaming industry for many years. But while most of the focus has been on player-on-player harassment, developers are subject to it too, and this case will help stamp it out.
