A Call of Duty player claims he went to an Activision studio to contest a ban he received in the recently released Modern Warfare 2.
In a since-deleted post in the r/activision subreddit, the gamer says he was “wrongfully banned” on Battle.net on October 28th and his appeal was “autodenied.” This led him to purchase a second copy of the game on Steam and make a new Battle.net account on October 29th, but this was also “wrongfully banned.” Notably, the user never cited any apparent reason for the ban.
In the end, he says these frustrations led him to travel to Activision’s Austin, Texas office to complain in person, only to be stopped by a security guard in the parking lot. He adds that the security guard told him he wouldn’t be able to speak to anyone in the studio but would relay his message. Upon doing so, the officer returned to say the team is short-staffed and “it will take a few weeks for unwarranted bans to be resolved.”
Naturally, The Gamer™ wasn’t happy. “I voiced my frustration due to the fact that I spent 140 dollars (70 + 70) and am left unable to play and the security guard told me to ‘not allow myself to get mad about a video game’ and told me that ‘I can be patient and wait,'” he says.
As mentioned, it’s unclear why this user was banned in the first place, so it could have been something legitimate like hate speech. But even if it wasn’t warranted, that obviously doesn’t justify him heading to the actual studio. Given the amount of abuse developers already take online, it’s concerning, to say the least, that an upset gamer wanted to just march right into a studio.
As The Gamer points out, concealed carry is even legal in Texas, so it’s scary to think of how a situation like this could have gone down. After all, we continue to see how violent acts — like the recent assault of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s husband — are carried out by people radicalized by GamerGate.
Therefore, it should go without saying, but please do not ever attempt to go to a studio to air your grievances, even if they are legitimate. Take the security guard’s advice and maybe chill out a little.
Note: Activision-Blizzard is currently facing ongoing legal issues regarding harassment and workplace culture. The company has been accused of enabling “frat boy culture.” Legal proceedings and investigations remain underway. Meanwhile, CEO Bobby Kotick is also under the microscope for allegedly covering up reports and allegations. New reports continue to filter in regarding sexual harassment allegations at the company.
Image credit: Activision
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