Why do people still do this??
It’s unfortunate that the gaming industry is rife with abuse and harassment. Whether it’s workplace discrimination or hate speech online, there’s no shortage of stories when it comes to toxicity. Sadly, indie developers are not immune to this either, as the project lead for the upcoming fan project Skyblivion says they’ve recently been receiving death threats.
In a post on Twitter, @Rebelzize says that working on the unofficial Oblivion remake has meant “dealing with stalking, death threads [sic], harassment,” as well as hacking. An additional tweet goes on to say that the team has “already sacrificed so much” and that the project lead is working a full-time job while having to deal with this. At the time of writing, it’s unclear why they’ve been the target of online abuse.
Its a bit sad that working on Skyblivion means dealing with stalking, death threads, harassment and now hacks as well. These have become such a normal part of what started as a hobby.
— K Rebel🎮 (@Rebelzize) July 17, 2023
As well as harassment and stalking, some “bits and bobs” were lost when the developer’s Discord server was hacked. Fortunately, the server and “all other accounts” are now back, and it seems as though the upcoming project is still on target for a 2025 release.
What is Skyblivion?
For those who don’t know, Skyblivion is an unofficial remake of the fourth Elder Scrolls game that’s being rebuilt in Skyrim‘s engine. It’s been in the pipeline for several years now, but recent updates from the team show that progress is coming along nicely, and it’s looking pretty fabulous so far. The remake is said to be free, but you’ll need legitimate copies of Oblivion and Skyrim (duh), as well as the expansion packs.
It’s frustrating to see that people are still being subjected to online abuse, whether it’s the players themselves or studios. There’s no clear reason why @Rebelzize would be receiving death threats, but there are plenty of others who are cheering the project on, with the “good [outweighing] the bad 1,000 to 1.”
