Game Developers Join Other Companies In Responding To SCOTUS's Decision On Roe v. Wade (Updated)

This morning, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe vs Wade, a five-decade-old ruling on abortion rights, by upholding an abortion law in Mississippi challenging it. For those who may not be familiar with this ruling, the NYPost offers a full rundown on its history, but the often-discussed area of contention revolves around a woman’s right to have an abortion.

Since the ruling this morning, several companies have come out stating their opposition to the ruling. Some have also gone beyond that in offering financial support to individuals in need of medical care that they may not be able to receive in their state. Today, Bungie, NCSoft, and ArenaNet all issued statements on the topic. Bungie’s was a follow-up to a statement made back in May when the ruling was leaked. Today, they followed up by stating that the ruling “cuts off millions of Americans from that access and leaves open the possibility of even further restrictions on lifesaving healthcare for all of us”.

In addition to the above statement, the company also stated that as it expands its “digital-first workplace” and adds more states, it will be “implementing a travel reimbursement program for any employee to use when they or a dependent cannot get access to the healthcare they need where they live.” The phrasing in both cases indicates that they will not only be aiding those in need of abortions but also transgender individuals whose states are working to cut them off from care as well.

ArenaNet and NCSoft’s statements were more of general support and can be read below.

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— NCSOFT (@NCSOFT_West) June 24, 2022

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— ArenaNet (@ArenaNet) June 24, 2022

We are sure to see more statements of one kind or another from various companies as time goes on. While our focus is obviously games, it is worth nothing that we’ve already seen several other non-gaming companies issue similar statements.

Update:

As we said, we're sure more companies would make a statement of some sort -- as it turns out. EA was next in line.

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— Electronic Arts (@EA) June 24, 2022