Sega is taking the issue of game dev harassment seriously, following Bungie’s footsteps by suing a social media user for “excessive slanderous and insulting comments” against an employee. In a world where the lines are becoming increasingly blurred between online toxicity and offline harassment, Sega has warned others that it’ll protect its employees at all costs.
Sega has a company policy for dealing with game dev harassment
In a press release (thanks, Automaton), Sega declined to delve into details of the incident — likely due to the legal settlement — but revealed that it had given the individual in question a chance to rectify their behavior. However, their “slanderous acts” did not stop, prompting the company to identify the culprit via a court order. The defendant will now pay damages to the employee and remove the objectionable material.
It’s unclear where this incident took place and where the social media user is from, but given that the press release we’ve seen is in Japanese, we’re speculating that the case was filed in Japan against a local social media user.
That said, Sega has made it clear that it now has a “Customer Harassment Policy” whereby players who “damage the dignity of employees and lead to a deterioration of the work environment” will be dealt with. The company says that it has a zero tolerance policy for violence, threats, and intimidation.