Destiny 2 developer wins big in lawsuit against player who was harassing an employee

A Destiny 2 player has been sued for close to $500,000 after harassing one of developer Bungie's employees and a member of their family. 

As highlighted by Twitter user @KathrynTewson, Bungie has successfully won a lawsuit against a Destiny 2 player who was harassing one of the developer's community managers and their wife. According to the court report, the defendant (referred to as Comer) left a "hideous [and] bigoted" voicemail for the employee on their personal phone following the release of one of the company's 'My Destiny 2 Story' posts which promoted the artwork of a Black Destiny 2 fan. 

Things only got worse from here as the report also details how Comer repeatedly left "threatening" and "racist" text and voice messages for the community manager and their wife over several hours. Things escalated further when Comer used an anonymous number to place an order for a "virtually inedible, odiferous pizza" to intimidate the couple and asked for it to be paid on delivery, hoping to "increase the chances of conflict between the [couple] and the delivery driver."

Due to this, Bungie "was forced to take expensive measures" to protect its employee and their family. This included hiring investigators and "outside counsel" to identify and locate who was behind the harassment, obtain a restraining order against them on behalf of the couple, and hire round-the-clock security for its employee. 

The incident also affected Bungie's other staff, with the developer "forced to shield other existing employees" and losing a "dedicated veteran" employee. The main employee affected also had to take time out of work due to the stress they had experienced. 

Because of all this, Bungie was able to sue Comer for damages which, along with the legal fees, added up to $489,435.52. Although successful on its own, the case also encouraged the court to recognize a new tort that will help future victims of cyberstalking and telephone harassment in Washington, USA. 

This isn't the first time Bungie has taken legal action against its players. Around this time last year, Bungie sued another Destiny 2 cheater who allegedly threatened to "burn down" their office.