Apex Legends studio speaks out against "increased harassment" toward devs

gamesradar.com:

The developer behind Apex Legends has spoken out against the increased harassment its staff have been experiencing.

The official Respawn Twitter account has posted the statement within the image seen just below. The studio reveals that its staff members have been experiencing "increased harassment" and makes sure to draw a line between constructive feedback and criticism and outright harassment towards developers.

pic.twitter.com/TK0VM2d72NSeptember 22, 2022

Respawn reminds players that it has a "zero tolerance policy for the threats and harassment of our developers." The studio goes on to say that it will take "appropriate action" against those instigating and partaking in the harassment of its developers but stops short of citing the action they'll be taking against such individuals.

A ResetEra (opens in new tab) thread sheds some light on why Respawn developers have been experiencing increased harassment recently. As reported by Dextero (opens in new tab), a popular streamer called HisWattson has apparently been inciting hatred towards Apex Legends developers in particular of late and has allegedly been messaging hackers in an attempt to make life miserable for staff. 

Elsewhere, the changes to iron sights haven't gone down well. Earlier this month, Respawn acknowledged (opens in new tab) that some iron sights on weapon skins gave players an advantage, and announced they would be altering the iron sights on the skins to level the playing field for all. This decision seemingly hasn't sat well with a small but vocal minority of the Apex Legends player base. 

It remains to be seen how this statement from Respawn affects the behaviour of its audience, but so far at least, its developers are giving a resounding thanks on