Square Enix has announced an expansive new group customer harassment policy, in order to protect its employees from harassment both online and in-person. The policy was announced in a blog post in Japanese and English.
The post starts off by stating “Square Enix believes that the feedback, comments and requests received from our customers are essential to the advancement of our group’s products and services, therefore we are committed to strive to apply your voice in improving our products and services.”
The company then says there are instances where customers have acted directly or through Square Enix support centers, towards executives, employees, or partners, and done things that constitute “customer harassment.”
Examples the company provided include acts of violence, abusive language, intimidation, trespassing, discriminatory speech, stalking, and unreasonable demands for punishment of employees. Square Enix is now prepared to take legal action against instances of harassment, and says it reserves the right to cease providing services to individuals that breath the guidelines.
Square Enix isn’t the first company to enact this kind of policy, and it’s not entirely surprising to see as toxicity has, in recent years, dangerously spiked online and on social media apps like X. The company received waves of harassment when Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D remake changed the “male” and “female” character options to “Body Type A” and “Body Type B.”
Earlier this year, Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki Yoshida also put out a statement condemning the transphobic attacks against Wuk Lamat’s voice actor, and asking players to “refrain from personal attacks.”
This also comes in the wake up multiple other companies and developers experience harassment. Back in June Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot condemned the “hateful acts” against developers following backlash against Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and Tales of Kenzera creator Abubakar Salim called out a “fever pitch” of racism received after the game’s launch.
