Apex Legends studio Respawn calls for an end to developer harassment

Apex Legends studio Respawn Entertainment has released a statement calling for an end to developer harassment.

The studio said it had chosen to release the statement following an increase in harassment towards members of its development team.

“We welcome community input, however, the line between constructive feedback and the harassment of our dev team cannot be crossed,” it said.

“We want to remind our players that we have a zero-tolerance policy for threats and the harassment of our developers. We will take appropriate action to ensure the health and safety of our team.

“We love hearing feedback and will continue to work alongside our community to foster a respectful, collaborative environment, and uphold the competitive integrity of our game.”

Posted to Twitter, the statement has been widely commended by fellow developers, including Destiny studio Bungie and Santa Monica Studio creative director Cory Barlog.

Respawn is the latest high profile studio to take a stand against online harassment. Earlier this year, God of War studio Sony Santa Monica issued a statement calling for “respect”, following reports of online abuse against its developers.

“Our fans inspire us, and we understand the passion and desire for more information,” it said, referring the wait for God of War Ragnarök news. “But that passion should not be toxic nor come at the expense of any human being’s dignity.

“Let’s celebrate our community by treating each other, every game and developer alike, with respect.”

Later, after retweeting the news that Return to Monkey Island director Ron Gilbert will no longer be posting about the game because of online abuse, God of War director Barlog again expressed his wish for the community to behave more respectfully.

Barlog’s tweet was commended by head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, who replied: “So well said Cory. Can’t wait to enjoy GoW when it comes out. And thanks to you and the team for the amazing work that goes into creating things we love. Thank you.”