The video game industry took a severe knock last year due to pandemic-related issues, but it was also hit by waves of sexual harassment allegations. A handful of these accusations were reported from within the FGC, and now, the community has implemented a new code of conduct for all members to adhere to.
The Fighting Game Community represents video game enthusiasts and players who partake in fighting game tournaments, including Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom, and Mortal Kombat. FGC member David "UltraDavid" Graham signed the new code of conduct - along with a video game attorney - to encourage all tournament participants and organizers to adopt these new ethics. Graham stated on twitter that old systems had to be changed in light of last year’s allegations.
The new guidelines focus primarily on consent between community members, and highlights how abusive behavior - including physical, verbal, emotional and suggested - would be disciplined. The code elaborated that disciplinary actions would likely result in temporary or permanent bans from online and in-person tournaments. A new group within the FCG, the CoC Team, will enforce these guidelines and apply them to all areas of organized tournaments, including chatrooms and broadcasts.
30 other signatories joined Graham to support the FGC's new code of conduct, including Super Smash Bros. participant Stefan "Shogun17" Pfister, and moderators Joe "Super" Munday and Sean "Jester" Stoner. Graham also confirmed that these new “uniform rules” will hopefully stop similar issues from occurring in the future. He also admitted that past regulations put “too much pressure on individual [tournament organizers] to make community-wide decisions”.
Discussions between volunteer tournament organizers, players, and streamers took place last year, resulting in this new code of conduct being created. The aim was to improve the community as a whole and learn from past mistakes that brought about several allegations last summer. Graham mentioned that he used previous codes of conduct as guidelines, but ultimately took on a lot of feedback from the proactive community.
Ubisoft was one company that crumbled under the weight of severe allegations last year, and CEO Yves Guillemot commented on the accusations back in September within a YouTube video. Guillemot promised that the team were “working hard to improve our systems and processes”, but failed to mention the specifics of their actions.