In the wake of numerous allegations of sexual misconduct and assault (opens in new tab) in the videogame industry aired over the past week, Electronic Arts has issued a statement saying that all complaints of harassment and abuse in its communities will be taken seriously and investigated.
"In recent days we’ve seen and heard a number of disturbing stories around sexual harassment, abuse and misconduct in our industry. We want to be very clear on our position: these behaviors are never ok—not in our communities or any others. Electronic Arts supports everyone that has come forward to report abuse and we are asking anyone who has experienced any kind of harassment or sexual misconduct in our community to come forward," EA said (opens in new tab).
"We take every allegation seriously and we investigate it. We are deeply committed to ensuring there is safe space for people to come forward and taking the right actions on behalf of our community. The stories we’ve heard recently make it clear there is still a lot of work to be done in our industry."
Employees who have encountered harassment or abuse are encouraged to report it to their manager or "People Experience leader," or anonymously through its "Raise a Concern" program. Players who encounter misconduct in games, from other members of the community or EA staff, can report most such incidents through individual games, as detailed here (opens in new tab).
"Being part of a gaming community, whether you’re an employee, creator, player or anyone else, should be a positive, fun, fair, inclusive, and most importantly safe experience," EA said. "This is a part of our commitment to Positive Play and we intend to continue to act on it."
Earlier this month, Electronic Arts also promised to step up efforts to fight toxicity in its games with a "Positive Play (opens in new tab)" charter outlining basic guidelines for players behavior, ranging from "don't be a jerk" to following local laws—and warning that "repeat or severe offenses" could result in permanent EA account suspension.
