Xbox Live software engineer Sela Davis has posted a lenghty statue update on her Facebook page, criticising an anonymous developer claiming to work for Microsoft.
Xbro states in an Escapist interview that 95 per cent of Microsoft employees support the Gamergate movement, but Davis believes such pronouncements are unfounded.
"I speak only for myself – a software engineer inside Xbox Live – when I say that I refuse to be misrepresented by 'Xbro'. I do not condone his statement implying that I, theoretically part of 'above 95 per cent' of Xbox, support Gamergate," she writes. "I do not understand where such a figure would come from, and I worry about what such a sweeping generalization says about me – especially coming from a voice of anonymity."
Davis goes on to state that "I must say this definitively: I do not support this movement born unquestionably of harassment of women and their supporters in this industry. I have watched as they attacked my friends since August of this year, and this witch hunt has only continued."
She goes on to comment that she believes Gamergate is "composed of a small core group of individuals (whether they are public-facing or not) whose goal it is to silence women and other marginalized people or anyone with feminist or progressive values in this industry."
Being asked if Microsoft truly supports the movement "breaks my heart", but Davis says that unlike Xbro, she is unwilling to speak for others within the company and she will personally never support Gamergate.
Given the harassment experienced by many women within the games industry over the past several months in particular, Davis' comments are brave. Given Xbro's anonymity, there's no way to know for certain whether he actually works for Microsoft, but he has been getting a lot of media attention of late, and his comments are deeply concerning if true.
While we can hope that is unlikely, Microsoft has made some poor judgement calls in the past on issues relating to women in games and how they portray their product. However, Microsoft narrative designer Tom Abernathy has said women are the "new core" of the games market, adding "our business stands to gain in every sense simply by holding a mirror up to our audience and reflecting their diversity in what we produce.”
Developers at Microsoft Game Studios and ID @ Xbox chief Chris Carla were among those to sign an open letter from developers speaking out against harassment in September.
