Bungie Continues To Sue Video Game Harassers And Cheaters Because It Is "Right" And "Good Business"

Anyone who has been following Destiny 2 and Bungie for the last couple of months is no stranger to Bungie’s way of dealing with cheating and harassing. For example, Bungie is suing one Youtuber for more than $7 million for allegedly impersonating the company and another Destiny 2 Cheater who has allegedly threatened to “burn down” Bungie’s office.

Bungie’s top lawyer had an interview with Axios where we get some answers behind Bungie’s actions and reasoning for all of the recent lawsuits against cheaters and harassers. “We have seen historically that bad actors will often be tolerated because the people with the skills and power to remove them do not focus their efforts there," Bungie general counsel Don McGowan told Axios. “In our view, removing harassment and abuse from our community is not only the right thing to do, it is also good business."

McGowan–who was a former longtime lawyer for the Pokémon Company International–said that Bungie initially targeted cheaters in “a strategic push.” Recently, in response to harassment aimed at Bungie and its employees, the studio had recently dialed back communication with its fans. McGowan addressed this by saying “[The employees] are doing a job and as their lawyer, my team and I have a set of skills that make it possible for us to defend them as well as the integrity of our players’ experience.”

The interview ended with the message that “tolerating bad actors chases away a lot of people who would like to enjoy our products.” A strong statement but a good reason that hopefully will ultimately make Destiny 2 a more fun, fair, and safe game for not only the players but the employees as well. If readers would like to read the full interview, they can head over to Axios.