Last week, the firing of Jessica Price and Peter Fries from Guild Wars developer ArenaNet over comments made to a partnered Youtuber on Twitter shook the game development world. The firings came after significant online backlash against Price and Fries from Reddit users, and in the aftermath, many developers expressed fears the event would embolden fringe sections of game communities to feel they could demand the sacking of developers at will.
Unfortunately, but also unsurprisingly, it would seem these fears are now being realised.
Stories have emerged on Twitter of attempts by social media users to bring down developers, particularly outspoken women, merely for voicing their own opinions online. This new wave of harassment raises serious questions about how game companies support staff in dealing with online abuse, and the lack of structures in place to deal with problems arising from interactions between developers and game communities.
Source: Eurogamer In the wake of the ArenaNet firings, women game devs are experiencing a new wave of online harassment