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Luke Barwikowski, founder of the pixelated MMORPG Pixels on Ronin, has revealed that he’s received repeated death threats against himself and his family because of his role in the crypto gaming industry.
“I don’t think people understand the amount of death threats Web3 founders get — it’s kind of crazy,” he wrote. “I have thick skin & good opsec though.”
OpSec, or operations security, is a term that refers to one’s security process that prevents sensitive info from getting into the wrong hands.
“It’s not just me,” Barwikowski added, suggesting other crypto founders face similar threats.
In a message, he told Blockworks that many of the threats come from actors he believes are “botters,” or people who break the rules by deploying bots to exploit the Pixels game for financial gain. When the team finds and restricts the bot accounts, those botters can become angry, resulting in death threats directed at the team.
The threats have reportedly come through direct messages and replies on X, Discord, Telegram and email, Barwikowski said.
When it comes to death threats online, the Pixels founder suspects they’re all too common. “I would bet most Web3 game founders have had them,” he added.
Skarly, the pseudonymous founder of the game Onchain Heroes, responded: “fr, im [sic] terrified to dox.”
Karel Vuong, co-founder of the gaming-focused EVM blockchain Treasure, told me he’s also been subjected to “ample” death threats as well as other threats of violence.
Unfortunately, harassment in the gaming industry is a broader problem.
A 2023 Game Developers Conference survey found that 40% of developers who responded said they had received some type of harassment from players.
While some founders in blockchain gaming adopt pseudonyms to protect their privacy, there are other strategies that could help. It’s wise to collect all evidence of the threats, notify your close family or friends to raise awareness about the concern, and notify local law enforcement to begin a record of the incidents.
Taking steps to protect your digital privacy could help in real life, too. Omitting location info on social media accounts and using a VPN could help mask your location. Plus, sites like DeleteMe could help purge your digital footprint.
Blurring out your home on GPS sites, or exploring ways to obscure your name from your property on public records before buying a home could also help make it harder for someone to discern your location.
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