Bungie proves toxic social media behavior can bring barriers between video game developers and players

Over the years, Bungie has faced the ire of many players who have been dissatisfied with Destiny 2. As good as the game is, there will always be someone who will be disappointed with the available quality.

While complaints are justified, the way some users have expressed themselves has resulted in a communication breakdown between the developers and the game's player base.

Bungie is well-known in the market primarily for Destiny 2, although it also gave birth to the Halo series. Destiny 2 is played by millions worldwide as the popular looter shooter has become more significant than ever. Given such a vast player base, there will always be a percentage who might not be happy with what's on offer.

These users, unfortunately, cross the limits when it comes to expressing their feelings. While some will think that their grievances are justified, it has resulted in the developers going on a backburner regarding communication.

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Toxic behavior on social media helps nobody, which has been once again showcased in the Bungie incident

In a recent incident, one Destiny 2 player expressed how they would want more communication from Bungie's end. This is expected, given how large-scale and widespread the game has become. Several events are taking place in-game, and the player believes prior communication about them and other general changes can be pretty helpful.

However, the game's community manager explained why Bungie has done what they have done. The manager replied that the harassment they have faced doesn't amount to just harsh words.

"Here's the thing, the harassment we've spoken to isn't just rude replies on twitter or vague comments. There have been real threats towards our people and our studio. We're taking them seriously, which is leading to an amount of reduced communications as the team plans future protections / strategies to help avoid these sorts of things."

The manager also announced how they had faced harassment and were supported by Bungie.

"I will be very clear in saying that I appreciate the studio in the amount that's it's helped me personally after some serious harassment towards me and my family. I'm taking time off in part because of this. Just because you can't see it directly in a given tweet or forum reply doesn't mean that it didn't happen."

It was then clarified that the decision taken by Bungie wasn't in any retaliation or punishment for the community.

"None of it is meant to be a punishment to the people who can leave clear and respectful feedback for our developers, mind you. There are no instances at Bungie where people actively look at a conversation and plan retaliatory actions towards our playerbase via hotfixes, updates, or comms strategies. Sometimes, we just need to take some time to get things straightened out. It can take weeks, can take months – just like any given development pipeline, as we want what's best for our players AND our employees. That said, we can't just move about "business as usual" until things are resolved. It sucks, but we want to be sure that folks are safe and taken care of."

It's clearly visible that the decision that the makers of Destiny 2 have taken isn't retaliation in any form. Instead, it seems to have been decided unanimously in response to the abuse received on social media.

This isn't the first time either, as the developers of Respawn have decided on the same when it comes to Apex Legends. While the developers are present in the subreddit, they usually refrain from commenting on a thread.

Everyone will accept that developers should be criticized when they deserve to do so. However, it's also true that solo developers seldom have a hand in a major debacle. Sometimes, a video game's problems are caused by someone in the management.

While criticism and feedback are fundamental, toxic behaviors do nothing but set up barriers. Had such an occurrence not occurred, the communication from their end towards the players would certainly have been better. This unfortunate incident is another example of how online trolls and abuses do no favors.