Bungie Emerges Victorious in Landmark Lawsuit Against Toxic Destiny 2 Player: A Harrowing Tale of Threats and Harassment

Bungie, the developer behind Destiny 2, has successfully sued a player who repeatedly made threats and harassed one of their employees. The player, who targeted a community manager and his spouse, has been ordered to pay nearly $500,000 in damages. This incident was sparked by the manager featuring the artwork of a Black member of the Destiny 2 community.

Destiny 2, the popular sci-fi shooter released in 2017, has been regularly updated with new content and expansions to keep players engaged. The current season, known as Season of the Deep, takes players on a journey to the Saturn moon of Titan to investigate a distress call. Although most of the season has already concluded, players have been facing difficulties with the latest Exotic quest, making it challenging to enjoy the process of obtaining it.

The lawsuit judgment was issued in default as Jesse James Comer, the defendant, did not appear in the superior court of the state of Washington where the case was being heard. Comer initiated a campaign of threats and harassment, labeled as "racist, stochastic terrorism," towards a Bungie employee after featuring the art contributions of a Black Destiny 2 community member as part of an initiative. Comer further escalated the situation by leaving unsettling voicemails on the personal phones of the employee and his wife, repeatedly making demands for in-game options that would selectively allow the killing of persons of color, all under the alias of Clay Bramston.

Taking his actions to another level, Comer sent an inedible pizza to the employee's residence, calling the employee's wife and informing her to "enjoy the pizza" after tracking its delivery, thus revealing his knowledge of their address. In response, Bungie sought assistance from local authorities to provide executive protection and conduct an investigation to uncover Comer's identity, ultimately obtaining a restraining order against him. The judgment also prohibits Comer from contacting any Bungie employee or engaging in harassment towards any Destiny 2 community member. Unfortunately, community toxicity remains pervasive as evidenced by Bungie's decision to disable comments on a Destiny 2 YouTube video due to harassment.

Kathryn Tewson, a paralegal on the prosecution team, shared a section of the ruling's documentation on Twitter. This new common law makes it simpler for studios to pursue those who engage in harassment and cheating.

Meanwhile, another Destiny 2 player, Comer, has a significant amount of money owed to Bungie. However, another individual, Mihai Claudiu-Florentin, a Romanian national, is facing an astonishing $12 million in damages after losing a lawsuit for creating cheat software in regards to Destiny 2. The software, developed by Claudiu-Florentin, allowed players to cheat by enhancing their aim and gaining the ability to see through walls.

Bungie takes the protection of Destiny 2 very seriously, including both its employees and the game itself. Earlier this year, the developer won a significant $4.3 million in arbitration against a creator of cheats for Destiny 2. Bungie has made it abundantly clear that their games and employees should never be tampered with.

You can currently play Destiny 2 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Source: IGN