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Unity cancels town hall over reported death threats

https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/14/23873628/unity-death-threats-john-riccitiello

Unity’s CEO was to address employees at the meeting.

Unity cancels town hall over reported death threats

The Unity pricing debacle has taken an unfortunate, dangerous turn. In a new report from Bloomberg, the company has reportedly canceled a town hall meeting due to what the publication called credible death threats. According to Bloomberg, Unity CEO John Riccitiello was set to address employees Thursday morning, but the companywide meeting was canceled and two of Unity’s offices were closed because of the alleged threats.

20 comments

Madison_rogue

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He was the CEO of Electronic Arts when the controversial loot box monetization was added to FIFA 09. He made news when he called developers “fucking idiots” over some developers’ reluctance to introduce monetization schemes earlier in the development process. There’s also the infamous clip of Riccitiello talking during a shareholder call about charging Battlefield players a dollar to reload their guns.

Look at this guy...I couldn't read all of the Bloomberg article due to paywall, so I don't know if this jackass actually provided proof of these "death threats."

While I don't condone them, it seems awfully convenient that an executive who's known to stir controversy with his monetization strategies received "alleged" death threats. I have a hard time believing it without proof because this guy is a sleaze ball greedy mofo.

dojan

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Gamers make death threats over anything, so I totally believe it.

Also don’t give a fuck if someone threats this guy. Seems like a net plus for the world.

Katana314

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First off: Disagree over death threats. They’re not warranted unless someone’s voice directly threatens people’s lives - not their entertainment.

On that note, I’m wondering if the threats may be more from game developers - studios that are reliant on income through the Unity engine, and may have their whole livelihood threatened by the pricing changes. (Doesn’t justify the threats, still)

StarServal

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There are terrible people in the gaming community who make empty death threats over any perceived slight. These people are to be reprimanded and dealt with accordingly.

That said, corpo suits and politicians have definitely started using this as a PR stunt to play victim and garner sympathy to lessen the negativity towards their wildly unpopular decisions.

I’m beyond caring anymore. Especially so for that slimy ceo. If you get death threats, report them to the proper authorities. Don’t report them over the nearest bullhorn. I’m not going to say he deserves it, but I won’t shed a tear over it either.

napalminjello

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Advocating for violent threats and harassment is totally cool guys, cause I don't like this person 😎

FreeBooteR69

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In any group of people there will always be a tiny subset of the population who will pull this unhinged bullshit. It's unfortunate, but now the CEO gets to play the victim, and anyone who's against his bullshit gets to be painted with the same brush as the unhinged guy.

gullible

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I never understand freaking out about death threats. If someone actually wanted to murder you, they’d be quiet and methodical about it, not grandiose. To be fair, I’ve never received a death threat so perhaps I’m not theeeeeeeeeeeee

ThunderingJerboa

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I mean you are assuming the person who is trying to murder you is a rational actor but you can't really be a rational actor if you are threatening death to someone because of their shit monetization policies on your entertainment. Hell some people throw "Death threats" at people because they decide to change a reload speed by a fraction of a second. So yeah "gamers" can be quite unhinged. Hell you had idiots in Jan 6 who loudly stated their intention and beat a cop to death. Hell we have seen situations of weirdos getting close to celebrities (in their heads) then trying to kill them, and I imagine cases like that will only get worse with parasocial relationships getting a bit out of hand with modern influences and streamers.

Madison_rogue

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There might be a reason people freak out about death threats...

ripcord

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Not trying to justify threats, but freaking out over one 40-year old event seems like overreaction, may not be the best argument.

Madison_rogue

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How 'bout last year?

gullible

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I can’t reply, sorry. I’m dead.

Madison_rogue

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RIP gullible

all-knight-party

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That's the fallacy of trying to understand criminal acts. For the most part, if someone were as smart, logical, and thoughtful as you are when you imagine the best way to commit murder, the kind of person to actually try and commit the murder would not be as smart, logical, or thoughtful to have gotten into that situation in the first place.

There are exceptions, of course, but it's enough of a possibility that it's probably better to take them seriously than not.

Edit: typed all that, scrolled down, some other dude already said it

Questy

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You should sort of expect to get some strong reactions when things are difficult economically and you make a statement saying, "sorry peasants, I need a shareholder bonus so your livelihood has to go. Also, fuck you."

If the threats are to him, dunno, he's done amazing harm. I'll just say jury is out on how appropriate they are in his case.

SnakeRattleNRoll

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Ah, the GamerGate issue. A hugely fascinating dive into consumer management & fury.

It has come up a few times in college communications courses, but it's difficult to have a neutral discussion about.

IHeartBadCode

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John Riccitiello

Dude is fucking cancer in the gaming industry. Completely unwanted and unhealthy for the gaming community but too insidious to fucking stomp out.

Everything this guy touches becomes shit nobody wanted.

Zima

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He is a reverse midas. Turns gold into shit

Awkwardparticle

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Unity is done for. Nobody is going to start a new project with their product. Devs are risk adverse. Making a game that is original is already a big enough risk for any studio. Why add an infinite amount of risk but building your game on an engine with unstable management. It is even worth retraining people to use a different engine.

kitonthenet

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lol owned