God of War Ragnarok producer calls for basic human decency in face of online abuse

Lack of release date causes fan meltdown

Yesterday, we reported on how Cory Barlog, producer of the upcoming God of War Ragnarok, asked the community for “patience” in their wait for release date news. Sadly, matters only escalated, encouraging Barlog to return to social media asking for — of all basic necessities — “human decency”. Vidya Gamez.

Barlog’s comments came after a fresh surge of fan outrage when June 30 did not result in the (purely rumored) release date reveal for the highly anticipated sequel. Among a litany of complaints, tantrums, and outright threats, one of Ragnarok‘s developers actually received explicit images in their inbox, along with yet another demand for the title’s release date.

Barlog, who I only yesterday described as someone who tends to deal with such scenarios tactfully, was understandably infuriated by these latter actions and was pushed beyond politeness. “Are you fucking kidding me with this now???” Barlog tweeted, addressing the incident. “They are busting their ass to make some for you to enjoy.”

“Show some fucking respect.”

The disgusting and petulant God of War controversy arrives within the same 24-hour window that Return to Monkey Island director Ron Gilbert — a developer who has only just returned to the gaming industry at large — also announced that they would no longer be providing updates for the brand new point ‘n’ click adventure after receiving a torrent of personal abuse from a cabal of alleged “fans”.

“I’m shutting down comments,” Gilbert wrote yesterday. “People are just being mean and I’m having to delete personal attack comments. It’s an amazing game and everyone on the team is very proud of it. Play it or don’t play it but don’t ruin it for everyone else. I won’t be posting anymore about the game.”

“The joy of sharing has been driven from me.”

I grew up in an era where the community basically didn’t get to interact with developers at all, outside of perhaps sending a physical letter that they wouldn’t have time to read. While the modern era has broken down many walls between artist and community in every industry, it has, unfortunately, opened up talented, hard-working folk to the sort of abuse and hate described above. It’s a sorry state of affairs, and that’s before noting the fact that the abuse is not even about politics, ethics, or creed, but the astonishingly trivial matter of “when is this game coming out within the next year”.

It should be noted that the abusers remain a vocal minority. But, as is always the case, they make the biggest and most prevalent noise. Frankly, even just one abuser is one too many. Shameful behavior — directed at the very people giving their time, energy, and ability in the name of providing them with solid, engaging entertainment.

God of War Ragnarok is currently in development for PlayStation platforms.

Chris Moyse

Senior Editor – Chris has been playing video games since the 1980s. Former Saturday Night Slam Master. Graduated from Galaxy High with honors. Twitter: @ChrisxMoyse