[ad_1]
A Call of Duty player upset about what he believes is an unjustified Modern Warfare 2 ban reportedly caused a ruckus when he tried to visit an Activision office in Austin, Texas to “talk to an employee” about his problem.
In a Reddit post that has since been deleted (opens in a new tab) from moderators of the r/activision subreddit, the player said they were banned from Modern Warfare 2 on October 28. Following the denial of a ban appeal, they set up a new email address and repurchased the game on Steam, only to be banned again on October 29.
“Today (10/31) I decided to go to the nearby Activision office in Austin, TX to try to speak to an employee due to the fact that it is impossible to speak to someone on the phone,” they wrote. “I was met by a security guard in the parking lot at Activision who told me I wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone.”
The guard delivered the message, according to the post, but there was no contact between the poster and Activision employees. “The fact that I can’t talk to anyone at Activision Blizzard is very frustrating when I just want to enjoy this game that I spent 140 dollars on,” the player concluded.
Frustration with unresponsive customer support is understandable and common, but going to a random studio office to “talk” to whatever employee you meet first is never a good idea. First, the person you talk to—if you talk to anyone at all—almost certainly will have no idea what you’re talking about or how to help you. Second, and more importantly, it’s the kind of action that can easily be seen as potentially threatening, and in an age where political tensions are high and workplace violence seems more common than ever, that’s the kind of thing that can end very badly. .
Aspyr Media associate producer Jacob Garcia addressed that very point on Twitter. “These employees get paid about $15/hour and still can’t pay the rent they shared with three other people,” he wrote. “Please don’t visit gamedevs in their offices. It doesn’t help and we fear for our safety.”
These employees get paid about $15/hour and still can’t pay the rent they shared with three other people. Please do not visit gamedevs in their offices. It doesn’t help and we fear for our safety. https://t.co/JeXK0zewIvNovember 1, 2022
“That’s honestly terrible, what the hell lmao,” Corsair social media manager caehlin (opens in a new tab) tweeted “Was my worst fear while working in support that people would just show up at our building for things like this or with worse intentions.”
“I’ve also (previously) been wrongly banned without any fix and it sucks, but don’t like being a gamer Karen,” Twilo developer advocate. tyrannical siren (opens in a new tab) tweeted “Literally not the fault of the workers.”
In contrast, many responses to the original post on Reddit (opens in a new tab) enthusiastically support the action.
“Thank god someone is taking action, I can’t believe they don’t have real customer support,” redditor csrano wrote.
“I’m going to their offices in Santa Monica later this week,” devontyb wrote. “All I wanted to know is that they are aware of the situation. Strange to me how at least they couldn’t take 5 seconds out of the day to make a tweet explaining that they are aware of the situation. Interested. to see how we will be compensated because at this point a ban is not enough.”
Some editors push back on the support for the original post and urge people not to start “vigilante campaigns” against Activision employees. “It’s a fucking game. Go outside, play another game, whatever,” wrote Big_Slice_Gaming. “It’s never good to show up to the studio like that. It’s pretty terrifying being online as a developer. Having an angry fan show up to your workplace must be absolutely terrifying. Just not.”
The post also claimed that Activision employees told the security guard that they were short-staffed and thus “it will take a few weeks for the unfair bans to be resolved,” which could be taken as an admission that there is a problem with fake bans. But it could just as easily be an attempt to get the guy off the property, or at least settle down, without any trouble. I’ve reached out to Activision for comment on the situation, and will update if I hear back.
[ad_2]
Source link