Why? Why does this keep happening?
This week there were rumblings that No Man’s Sky would be delayed, and eventually a confirmation that the game is now being held back until August 9, 2016. A majority of the internet reacted in a calm manner, while others decided to accuse Kotaku of lying and apparently made death threats. Death threats over a video game being delayed. Seriously.
Shortly after Kotaku writer Jason Schreier broke the news, he received the following threat on Twitter.
What it’s like to write about video games on the internet: pic.twitter.com/a4yRcGMbsA
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) May 27, 2016
This same person (who Twitter still hasn’t banned at the time of writing) had apparently been posting hateful things on reddit, accusing Schreier of running an unsubstantiated rumor, even though Kotaku confirmed the information with multiple sources.
Now Sean Murray, founder of No Man’s Sky developer Hello Games and owner of @NoMansSky on Twitter, has made it known that he has “received loads of death threats” this week. Murray lightheartedly jokes about the threats, but I can’t imagine he is happy about it.
I have received loads of death threats this week, but don’t worry, Hello Games now looks like the house from Home Alone #pillowfort
— Sean Murray (@NoMansSky) May 28, 2016
Tell me when its safe to remove the marbles and oil from the stairs. It’s getting really cumbersome, and I need the toilet
— Sean Murray (@NoMansSky) May 28, 2016
Of course, this isn’t the first time this has happened as gamers have issued death threats for such things as rebooting Devil May Cry, Facebook’s Oculus acquisition, and being a woman who dares criticize games. And those are just the tip of the iceberg. Guess we will have to add “delayed a game’s release to make it better” to the list the next time idiots decide to threaten the lives of people over video games.
Published: May 28, 2016 10:00 pm