Xbox Co-Creator Slams Sexual Harassment by Halo Infinite Players

By Marc Deschamps

Online gaming has grown by leaps and bounds over the last two decades, but the experience remains unpleasant for a lot of users, particularly women. On Twitter, Twitch streamer Grenade Queen shared a video in which she is subjected to a number of sexist comments while playing Halo Infinite. Players harass her during the game, telling her that she should switch to games like Fortnite or Valorant, with one saying that she should "show your t*ts on Twitch." The video was noticed by Xbox co-creator Seamus Blackley, who Quote Tweeted it, stating that this type of behavior "needs to be highlighted and stopped." 

The Tweets from Grenade Queen and Blackley can be found embedded below.

Blackley's Tweet received a similarly large number of responses. The majority of comments rightly condemned this type of behavior, but many posters pointed out that this problem isn't a new one. In fact, a study conducted by Lenovo and Reach3 Insights earlier this year polled 900 women gamers, and 77% stated that they received harassment related to their gender while gaming online, with 70% stating that their skill was question, just as we see happening to Grenade Queen in the video above. 59% of those respondents even stated that they have concealed their gender to avoid being harassed while playing.

In a follow-up Tweet, Blackley acknowledged that the problem has persisted for too long, stating that a resolution would need to be a team effort between Xbox, developers, and the community. It's impossible to say how those efforts will go, and whether or not Xbox will do what it takes to make online gaming a more pleasurable experience. However, it is a battle worth fighting, and hopefully this incident will help draw more attention to the toxicity many people experience. Of course, this is hardly just an Xbox problem. Hopefully, publishers and communities can find a way to make onling gaming better for everyone.

Have you encountered this type of harassment or toxicity while gaming online? Would you like to see publishers proactively handle the problem? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

[H/T: Gaming Bible]

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