BioWare: "Attacking individuals is never acceptable"

BioWare has spoken out about the abuse targeted at an Electronic Arts employee which stemmed from disappointment over Mass Effect Andromeda.

The game has been criticised over the past few months for the quality of its facial animations. A blog post by right-wing site The Ralph Retort claimed that this can be entirely attributed to Allie Rose-Marie Leost, Kotaku reports.

While the blog claims Leost was the lead facial animator on Mass Effect Andromeda, she in fact works for EA's Vancouver-based motion-capture labs. BioWare has clarified that Leost was "misidentified" as lead facial animator.

The blog also accuses Leost of being "a cosplayer with no video game experience", and implied that she performed sexual acts to secure her role. Readers of this post have since taken it upon themselves to attack Leost with a barrage of abuse via social media.

BioWare's general manager Aaryn Flynn commented on the situation: "Recently, a former EA employee was misidentified as a lead memer of the Mass Effect: Andromeda development team. These reports are false.

"We respect the opinions of our players and community, and welcome feedback on our games. But attacking individuals, regardless of their involvement in the project, is never acceptable."

Online abuse over specific features in games has become increasingly common, as have instances where abusers have misinterpreted or misrepresented the facts. It's vital for companies to clarify any falsehoods as swiftly as possible.

Mass Effect Andromeda is released in the US tomorrow and in the UK and Europe later this week, so it's worth remembering that almost none of the people issuing such abuse have even played the finished game.