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Square Enix has cancelled the four Starwing Paradox tournaments scheduled this weekend, as several death threats were made against the arcade game’s management team (via Kotaku).
In an official statement, Square Enix stated that the threats have been reported and the incident is currently being dealt with by the police. The tournaments in Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, and Fukuoka were cancelled as a safety measure, and the publisher apologised to fans who were looking forward to the events.
Earlier this year, a man was arrested for threatening to kill Square Enix staff after he spent over £1,500 attempting to unlock a specific item in a gacha game. This week, another fan threatened an arson attack on the publisher after losing in a game, stating he would repeat the Kyoto Animation tragedy, and was arrested by Tokyo police.
At present, it is unknown whether the tournaments will be rescheduled, but this is one more example of how toxicity in the gaming community has very real consequences for developers and their games.
