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Yesterday, Epic Games published its ‘Statement on Misinformation & Abuse’ in reaction to the intense backlash Ooblets developer Glumberland experienced after announcing its exclusivity agreement with Epic last week.
Developer Ben Wasser explained, transparently, the reasons why the game swapped distribution platforms in a blog post, peppering in light-hearted humour that there are more important things to be angry about than a video game.
It seems that this message was not universally shared. Accused of patronising gamers and cash-grabbing, Glumberland wrote in a Patreon post that they had, ‘really misjudged how angry so many people would be.’ (via GamesIndustry.biz).
The sweeping extent of the harassment was especially shocking: ‘We've been getting thousands if not tens of thousands of hateful, threatening messages across every possible platform nonstop… It's especially hurtful since we've had such a positive, supportive relationship with our audience throughout development.’
With its ‘Statement on Misinformation & Abuse,’ Epic hopes to stem the tide of vitriol towards Glumberland and the other developers it has partnered with. The statement supports the right people’s right to ‘speak freely and critically’ on the games industry and the companies that comprise it, but denounces the targeted rage that Glumberland has suffered over the past week.
‘The announcement of Ooblets highlighted a disturbing trend which is growing and undermining healthy public discourse,’ Epic stated, ‘and that’s the coordinated and deliberate creation and promotion of false information, including fake screenshots, videos, and technical analysis, accompanied by harassment of partners, promotion of hateful themes, and intimidation of those with opposing views.’
Epic added that their ambition is to ‘build what we believe will be a healthier and more competitive multi-store world for the future. We remain fully committed, and we will steadfastly support our partners throughout these challenges. Many thanks to all of you that continue to promote and advocate for healthy, truthful discussion about the games business and stand up to all manners of abuse.’
An Epic exclusivity deal comes with benefits like boosted visibility, financial investment and a more favourable revenue split, and now with defence against the darker corners of the Internet. Fingers crossed that Epic’s statement ensures all's well that ends well for its partners.
