Bungie’s general counsel Don McGowan has revealed why the company has initiated so many lawsuits against members of the Destiny 2 community in the last few years.
In an interview with Axios, McGowan shared that the main driver behind the lawsuits, which target Destiny cheaters, harassers, and troublemakers, is to improve the state of the game’s community. “In our view, removing harassment and abuse from our community is not only the right thing to do, it is also good business,” McGowan said. “This is an issue that impacts many studios across the industry, and it is critical to deal with it to maintain a healthy and happy community that wants to play your game.”
Even though it can be difficult to track instigators due to the anonymity of usernames and high legal costs, Bungie believes that the effort and money involved are worth it if taking them down results in a stronger community. The company is also concerned about its employees, who have received a large amount of online harassment from a subset of Destiny players. McGowan is as dedicated to defending them as he is “the integrity of our players’ experience.”
Since last year, Bungie has gone after several individuals and groups it believes have damaged the Destiny experience for the wider player base. In 2021, Bungie teamed up with Ubisoft to file a lawsuit against the creators of cheat programs made for Destiny 2. Earlier this year, Bungie sued a player who targeted fan YouTube channels with fake copyright takedowns. The company recently filed suit against a player who it claims harassed a Bungie employee repeatedly. “Serious consequences await anyone else foolish enough to volunteer as a Defendant by targeting Bungie’s community for attack,” part of the suit reads.
