An Industry Poll Shows 75% of Game Developers Were Subjected to Harassment

Individual harassment is taking a new shape with increased digitization and technological advancement. It was evident after 75% of game developers who responded to an industry poll deemed harassment and toxic player behavior to be a “severe” or “very serious” problem. About forty percent of those asked stated they had either been harassed by other players or witnessed it happening to a teammate. Those in community management, marketing, and public relations reported experiencing or witnessing harassment at a higher rate than those in other jobs

According to a source, the survey was conducted by the Game Developers Conference and its affiliated journal Game Developer, which polled about 2,300 game developers from across the globe. Ninety-one percent of respondents concurred that player harassment and toxicity toward developers were a problem in the industry. About 4% of respondents responded that it was not an issue, while 5% were unclear.

An Industry Poll Shows 75% of Game Developers Were Subjected to Harassment

On the other hand, men polled were less likely to report experiencing or witnessing harassment than women or non-binary individuals, while those who identified as members of the LGBTQ+ group were more likely to report experiencing or witnessing harassment.

In the past year, numerous studios have spoken out against the abuse of their employees, with some even taking serious action, such as Bungie, who sued a player for allegedly threatening an employee.

Furthermore, approximately two-thirds (68%) of respondents to the GDC poll claimed their employers had addressed harassment they had experienced or witnessed. One-fifth responded negatively, while 11% were uncertain.

In this regard, one of the surveyors said,

I think setting boundaries clearly and publicly, as well as calling on the community itself to help, can be effective. Large companies seem to fear that their toxic players are their fanbase without appreciating that they are impacting much larger numbers of their actual fanbase.

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