Bungie has won a lawsuit against a Destiny 2 player for just under half a million dollars after they doxxed, continuously harassed, threatened, and frightened a community manager through voicemail.
Destiny 2 developer Bungie is one of the quickest companies to crack down on bad behavior in their games. Whether that be punishing bad actors with bans or filing lawsuits against cheat developers, Bungie is always looking to keep Destiny 2 a safe space to play in. The developers have had massive success in protecting their game, with multiple lawsuits resulting in millions of dollars being paid out in recent months.
Bungie is also typically seen as a great developer when it comes to interacting with the community. Bungie releases its weekly blog post the TWID, which often highlights community members and various players for their efforts.
However, one player, in particular, was not too pleased with what was shown in one week’s TWID blog and decided to take it out on the community manager that posted it. In response, Bungie filed a lawsuit against the player, one they’ve since won, netting just under half a million as a result.
Good afternoon! I'm taking a moment to highlight a win we got yesterday on behalf of @Bungie, who sprang into action to ensure the safety of an employee who was targeted for racist harassment and threats last year.
— Kathryn Tewson (@KathrynTewson) July 12, 2023
Bungie wins lawsuit against player for $489,000 USD
This particular lawsuit was filed after the player started a campaign of “racist, stochastic terrorism” against Bungie and more specifically, its community manager. The player supposedly filtered their phone number through a service that allowed anonymous calling and proceeded to send the employee’s personal phone numerous bigoted voicemails.
The player in question, surname Comer, continuously sent through more voicemails, with one even asking “that the [employee] convince Bungie to create options in its game in which only persons of color would be killed.”
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Comer also threatened them by showing that they knew where they lived. They used an anonymous number to order a pizza to the Bungie employee’s home, instructing them to bang on the door loudly. The player also requested that the order be paid on delivery, hoping to spark disagreement between the staff member and the delivery driver.
Comer also sent “ear r***” sound files through voicemail to them, which they sourced off of their terr0gang Steam group.
As a result of the continued harassment, the Bugie employee took time off of their job as a community manager for Destiny 2.
But the really exciting news comes in at the end. In addition to finding that Washington employers can recover for damages for harassment of their employees under standard torts like nuisance and invasion of privacy, the Court also held that it would recognize A NEW TORT. pic.twitter.com/XB4bTJFyFV
— Kathryn Tewson (@KathrynTewson) July 12, 2023
Bungie was able to successfully file a lawsuit against the player for $489,435 USD. Alongside the financial reparations, the court recognized a new tort for the case, which will pave the way for future cases of online harassment in Washington.
You can read the entirety of the lawsuit here.