Community Management
Ongoing coverage on Community Management.
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LONDON GAMES FESTIVAL UNVEILS ITS 2026 ENSEMBLE COHORT
The London Games Festival has announced its 2026 Ensemble cohort, highlighting Black, Asian, and underrepresented ethnic creatives in the UK games industry. The program, curated by Sharna Jackson, features eight individuals in roles ranging from game directors to audio designers, with an installation at Trafalgar Square and features at New Game Plus.
Marvel Heroes Tahiti mod scandal sends its Discord into temporary age lockdown
The community director for the Marvel Heroes Tahiti rogue server announced that a moderator was caught possessing CSAM, leading to the game's Discord server being temporarily locked down to age-verified users. The developers have since promised to roll back age restrictions and conduct more thorough background checks on their staff, emphasizing their commitment to community safety.
Hypixel Makes Life Easier with Update 5 Part 2 Blog-Style Patch Notes
Hypixel has transitioned its patch notes for Update 5 Part 2 to a blog post format, making them more accessible and easier for players to find and reference. This change aims to improve the quality of life for the community, though some players have expressed concerns about potential searchability issues compared to the traditional format. The new system also includes a dedicated section for modders, highlighting Hypixel's commitment to supporting the broader Minecraft ecosystem.
Slay the Spire 2 devs were caught off guard by 13,000 negative Steam review spike: "It was much more extreme than…
Mega Crit co-founder Casey Yano addressed a recent spike of over 13,000 negative Steam reviews for Slay the Spire 2, noting that while he is accustomed to harsh feedback, newer team members were surprised. The negative reviews were reportedly tied to a specific balance change rather than external factors, and Yano highlighted efforts to improve communication channels with players, particularly in China.
CyberStonka’s April Fool’s Server Hamster Has Gaming Twitter Giggling
CyberStonka gained positive attention on April Fool's Day with a simple announcement about 'server hamster maintenance.' Instead of a typical prank, the company posted a wholesome message about caring for their fictional hamster, which resonated well with players and highlighted a trend towards inclusive humor in gaming marketing.
Alien Worlds Introduces New On-Chain Users System
Alien Worlds has launched a new on-chain competition system that centralizes metaverse events and allows players to earn rewards in Trilium or Shards. The system enables community members to initiate, manage, and audit competitions, with plans to transition full responsibility to the community for enhanced decentralization.
NARAKA Drops Legendary Rewards for Snitching on Cheaters — Only 2 Players Earned Them
NARAKA: BLADEPOINT has introduced a new anti-cheat system that rewards players with legendary skins for reporting cheaters. During the first week, 15 cheaters were banned, but only two players earned rewards, highlighting a potential disconnect between developer detection and player reporting. The system uses tiered rewards to incentivize accurate reporting and aims to leverage community policing to maintain a fair gaming environment.
War Thunder’s 14th Community Spotlight Shows How Live Service Games Keep Players Creating
War Thunder's ongoing Community Spotlight series, now in its 14th edition, exemplifies how developers can sustain player engagement in live service games through consistent recognition of fan creations. Gaijin Entertainment's approach, which includes rewarding featured creators with exclusive in-game decals and encouraging the integration of physical scale models with digital counterparts, fosters a strong community bond. This strategy offers valuable lessons for other developers on building long-term player retention through genuine community interaction rather than solely relying on monetization or gameplay loops.
Important lessons from running a successful video game crowdfunding campaign
Niina Fujioka of Playable Worlds, Inc. shared key lessons from their successful crowdfunding campaign for the MMORPG Stars Reach. She emphasized the importance of building a community, setting realistic funding goals, and transparently communicating the development journey to backers. Fujioka highlighted that crowdfunding platforms amplify a message but success hinges on understanding the audience and delivering on promises.
The Daily Grind: What’s the most annoying thing about MMORPG forums?
This article discusses the increasing prevalence of AI-generated content and plagiarism on MMORPG forums, which makes it harder for genuine player feedback to be noticed by developers. The author expresses disappointment that this trend could lead to developers ignoring forums altogether. The piece poses the question of what players find most annoying about modern MMORPG forums.
Overwatch Community Called Out for Dev Harassment as Toxicity Crisis Deepens
A Reddit post has highlighted severe harassment directed at an Overwatch developer, sparking a community discussion about escalating toxicity. The article calls for individual accountability and a cultural shift to combat abuse across platforms, emphasizing the negative impact on developers and the gaming community as a whole.
'It's Obvious This DLC Has Failed to Meet Your Expectations' — Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Dev Issues Apology to Disgruntled Fans for Controversial $5 Voice Pack, Offers Refunds and Makes It Free - IGN
Focus Entertainment and Saber Interactive have apologized to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 players for a controversial $5 voice pack DLC. The developers are making the DLC free and offering refunds due to player backlash over its implementation and perceived false advertising. Despite this issue, the game has been a significant success, leading to the announcement of Space Marine 3.
Games for Change research director unveils training program for community-facing professionals
Games for Change research director Dr. Rachel Kowert has launched the DLC Leadership Program, a new certification initiative aimed at professionalizing moderation and digital leadership within online gaming communities. The program, designed for community managers, moderators, and digital creators, translates research into practical tools to address issues like harassment and burnout, with industry partners including Riot Games and Roblox contributing to its development.
Over 48% of unreleased games have a Discord server, and I'm sure this is all fine and normal and I don't miss…
The article discusses the increasing prevalence of Discord servers for video games, with over 48% of unreleased titles having a server. It highlights concerns about game companies relying on Discord for their entire news cycle and the potential risks associated with data privacy and dependence on a single tech company.
TransmuTowers Launches on Steam with Free Content Update Coming Soon
TransmuTowers, a new tower defense game from developer BlueFire, has launched on Steam. The developers are actively engaging with the community and have announced a free content update within two months that will add a new level, two towers, and complete the game's story mode. This community-first approach, including Discord for bug reporting and volunteer translations, aims to help the indie title stand out in a crowded market.
Activision Launches New Way To Talk With Call Of Duty Fans
Activision has launched a new communication channel, the Call of Duty CM account, to directly engage with fans about the popular First-Person Shooter franchise. This initiative aims to foster better communication regarding game updates, announcements, and community discussions, especially following recent discussions about game leaks and the reception of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.
New Indie Game Wireworks Just Dropped on Steam and the Dev is Actually Listening
The indie game Wireworks has launched on Steam, with developer JJJ actively engaging with the community for feedback and bug reports. This approach is highlighted as a refreshing change in a landscape where many indie developers become unresponsive post-launch. The article discusses the challenges of the indie game market and the importance of ongoing community management for a game's long-term success.
PlanetSide 2 will officially close its forums and move to Discord March 16
PlanetSide 2 is migrating its official forums to Discord on March 16th due to a critical hardware issue. The forums will become read-only, with most categories and discussion threads moving to Discord. Daybreak's Rogue Planet Games will continue to provide updates on the transition.
Minecraft CE Project Deleted After Community Toxicity Spirals Out of Control
The community-driven Minecraft Community Edition project has been deleted by its developers due to overwhelming toxicity from players. The team cited "disgusting toxic" behavior as making the project unmaintainable, highlighting the challenges faced by volunteer-led projects in managing community interactions.
Helldivers 2 players took a charity challenge and turned it into a toxic drama bomb
A proposed charity challenge for Helldivers 2 players to donate to Arrowhead Game Studios' chosen charity devolved into toxic drama and harassment. Miscommunication led to accusations of holding a donation hostage, resulting in the original poster being doxxed and receiving threats. Arrowhead Game Studios denounced the community's behavior, urging players to practice kindness and respect.