Developers of Cities: Skylines 2 have noticed a growing toxicity in their community, which is affecting engagement and creativity.
The CEO of Colossal Order expressed concern about the negative impact of toxicity on the team and the community.
The developers still encourage helpful criticism from the community but ask for it to be constructive and kind.

Archive link: https://archive.ph/mVaIY

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[–] Ashtear@lemm.ee 2 points 10 months ago

Professional sports leagues are another example. Put a shit product on the field, you're going to get shit back from the fans. Every now and then a young star player comes up (especially in American football) that received adulation for years at the college level and suddenly gets faced with jeers. They react like Colossal Order does here and--eventually--learn that they are picking a fight against collective emotional response that they are never going to win.

CO is learning that lesson now. While they can and should take actions against those that cross the line (death threats, etc.), there's not much in the way of effective corrective action here. It's all on them. They can a) put out a better product, b) hire community managers with thicker skin that can better assuage their fans, or c) withdraw from community interaction. Most that can't handle it pick the third option.