For the past few weeks, a great deal of discourse has revolved around The Last of Us Part II. The long-awaited sequel, while a mostly financial and critical success, has had several of its aspects interact with topics related to the grander gaming development and criticism landscape. Unfortunately, this has also involved harassment and death threats sent to the game’s cast and development crew, with the most known at this point being Laura Bailey. Now, a new Naughty Dog statement has been released, with the developer condemning this toxic behavior by the game’s supposed “fans.”

Although we welcome critical discussion, we condemn any form of harassment or threats directed towards our team and cast. Their safety is our top priority, but we must all work together to root out this type of behavior and maintain a constructive and compassionate discourse. pic.twitter.com/eoq4t1ITnh

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) July 5, 2020

Naughty Dog recently tweeted their response to the toxic messages sent to The Last Of Us Part II cast and crew on their official Twitter account. The Naughty Dog statement made it known that the developer condemns the harassments made and assured that keeping their employees and collaborators safe is of their highest priority. The statement also pleaded for those both in and outside of Naughty Dog to eliminate this behavior from public and private interactions.

Voice actor Laura Bailey and director Neil Druckmann have lately been sharing snippets of the harassment they have been receiving due to fan disapproval over The Last of Us Part II. These messages have included homophobic, anti-semetic, transphobic, and other hateful speech. It is good to see that this Naughty Dog statement was so direct and protective of the victims in this situation. Hopefully, those in the gaming community take heed of this and make the discourse around the game less hurtful. That type of speech is more toxic than any fungal infection.

What do you guys think about this Naughty Dog statement condemning the harassment and death threats? Let us know in the comments below! Be sure to stay tuned for the latest The Last of Us Part II news, such as the game director Neil Druckmann’s response to the harassment, here on Don’t Feed the Gamers! Follow us on Twitter to see our updates the minute they go live!