Guild Wars 2 developer fires 2 staff over ‘sexist’ feud

ArenaNet, the developers behind the Guild Wars series, have fired two of their writing staff after a disagreement broke out on Twitter. The disagreement quickly got heated and personal with veteran ArenaNet writer, Jessica Price, finding herself right in the midst of it.

The argument begun with Price taking to Twitter to share her experience with creating dialogue for characters within MMORPGs. A response from YouTube content creator ‘Deroir’ certainly rubbed Price the wrong way, with Price accusing Deroir of overstepping his bounds and not respecting her professional opinion because of her gender.

Really interesting thread to read! ?
However, allow me to disagree *slightly*. I dont believe the issue lies in the MMORPG genre itself (as your wording seemingly suggest). I believe the issue lies in the contraints of the Living Story’s narrative design; (1 of 3)

— Deroir (@DeroirGaming) July 3, 2018

It was Price and her coworker Peter Fries that took umbrage with Deroir’s comment, and they certainly didn’t want to hold back.

thanks for trying to tell me what we do internally, my dude 9_9

— Jessica Price (@Delafina777) July 4, 2018

Today in being a female game dev:

“Allow me–a person who does not work with you–explain to you how you do your job.” https://t.co/lmK0yJWqGB

— Jessica Price (@Delafina777) July 4, 2018

Things continued to escalate and a Reddit thread was created over at the Guild Wars subreddit that was largely attacking Price and her reaction. A lot of hate started flowing in Price’s direction online but her Twitter responses seemed to get more and more aggressive. Many Tweets have since been deleted although the internet never forgets, taking screenshots of comments like the one made below.

The end result was the immediate termination of Price and her colleague who joined in on the Twitter war. ArenaNet’s official statement was made to their forum that reads:

“Recently two of our employees failed to uphold our standards of communicating with players. Their attacks on the community were unacceptable. As a result, they’re no longer with the company.

I want to be clear that the statements they made do not reflect the views of ArenaNet at all. As a company we always strive to have a collaborative relationship with the Guild Wars community. We value your input. We make this game for you.”

The situation is an unfortunate one for both Price and ArenaNet. Price was on her personal Twitter account and believed she could respond openly and honestly with her feelings on the situation. It’s clear Price viewed the disagreement as misogyny with Deroir’s comment being a prime example of ‘mansplaining’. It’s also an unfortunate conversation or situation Price has likely found herself in before simply because of her gender. Is it a case of sexism with an appropriate response or overreacting to what could have been a harmless discussion?

Regardless, it was a situation ArenaNet didn’t want to find themselves in. And Price’s responses are a direct reflection on them as a company and how they interact with their fans and players in social spaces. What is your take on this uncomfortable situation?