‘EVE Online’ Developer Investigating Ban of Real-World Politician
“EVE Online” developer CCP Games is investigating its own ban of a real-world politician from the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, it revealed in a statement on its website Wednesday.
“Last week, on Apr. 8, 2019, we announced the permanent banning of Brisc Rubal and their ejection from the Council of Stellar Management,” CCP Games said. “We also issued one-year bans to two other players involved in this incident and confiscated their associated in-game assets and ISK.
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“Following this statement, we have held further discussions with the affected parties. We have also been conducting an internal review to substantiate the evidence available to us and evaluate our handling of the situation. We intend to share a full follow-up statement next week.”
Brisc Rubal is the in-game moniker of former GOP election official Brian Schoeneman. He used his experience as a politician to effectively campaign and get elected to “EVE Online’s” Council of Stellar Management last year. He was banned from the game earlier this month for allegedly sharing proprietary information to conduct illicit in-game transactions.
Schoeneman issued a statement on Reddit following the ban saying he’s completely innocent, and the “baseless charges” are having an “immediate and negative impact” on both his in-game and real-world reputations.
“As an attorney and a public figure in the United States, my ethics and reputation are regulated by a code of professional responsibility and statutory law, unlike CCP’s opaque community team,” he said. “I will fight these false allegations, restore my reputation and seek all avenues for recourse available to me for these reckless actions.”
CCP Games ended its statement on Wednesday by saying transparency, fairness, and trust are important to the studio. It also assured fans it’s taking the matter very seriously.
“As should be expected, we will issue a full and frank apology for any mistakes for which we are responsible, as well as provide appropriate reparations to those affected by any erroneous actions we’ve taken,” it said.
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