**Sony Interactive Entertainment and Arrowhead Game Studios Respond to Harassment Following D10 Dev Challenge Controversy**
Sony Interactive Entertainment and Arrowhead Game Studios have issued an official statement on the Helldivers Discord server in response to the backlash concerning the D10 Dev Challenge. This comes after troubling reports that the challenge’s creator has been targeted with death threats and doxxing regarding their workplace.
The D10 Dev Challenge was conceived as a charitable endeavor, giving developers an opportunity to earn a donation to a charity of their preference by completing a demanding in-game objective. In a message shared on the Helldivers Official Discord, both companies voiced their alarm over the “hostility within the community” that has arisen from this initiative. They strongly denounced any acts of violence, harassment, or doxxing aimed at individuals involved in the community, which includes both players and developers. The statement highlighted the necessity of upholding a secure and welcoming atmosphere in community areas, such as the r/Helldivers subreddit.
The creator of the D10 Dev Challenge has since withdrawn from the event, citing various death threats received since its launch. In a follow-up post on Reddit, they mentioned, “I’ve received countless messages of this nature since I first announced the challenge. For my own well-being, I’ll be stepping away from Reddit and the community entirely.” This user also disclosed that their family and the animal sanctuary where they volunteer have also faced threats, prompting a total withdrawal from the community.
The reasons behind these threats remain ambiguous, yet it seems that a portion of the community, known as “Glazedivers” on the r/HelldiversSodium subreddit, may have interpreted the challenge as an affront to the developers. This understanding has sparked a backlash that the original challenger did not foresee. To complicate matters, moderation actions on the primary r/Helldivers subreddit have reportedly resulted in the removal of numerous posts discussing the situation, hindering a complete grasp of the context.
### What is the Helldivers 2 D10 Dev Challenge?
The D10 Dev Challenge was initially presented to the development team on February 28 in a post on the subreddit. The term “D10” designates Super Helldive difficulty, denoting the most challenging difficulty setting available in Helldivers 2. The challenge was positioned as a competition whereby if Arrowhead could create a video showcasing four developers executing an operation at the highest difficulty with all objectives achieved, a $1,000 donation to a charity selected by Arrowhead would be made.
After the announcement, the challenge gained substantial momentum, with various Helldivers 2 content creators and fans providing additional funds to support the cause. Arrowhead Game Studios’ CEO Shams Jorjani also participated in the challenge, sharing images of developers working on the task within the Helldivers Discord community.
At present, it remains uncertain if the D10 Challenge will proceed, but Arrowhead has revealed that they will keep monitoring and addressing the evolving situation both internally and with outside partners.
