Outrage as eco mob storm major gaming event destroying personal equipment worth thousands

A RECENT protest has shaken the gaming community, with gaming equipment worth thousands of pounds being destroyed.

The trio of protesters were arrested for criminal damage by the Metropolitan Police, after being escorted from the venue.

Just Stop Oil

Protesters came on the scene, spraying orange paint and smearing it on the monitors.[/caption]

Just Stop Oil

They were quickly removed from the stage by security.[/caption]

They targeted a small fighting game tournament where players brought their own equipment.

EGX is a gaming convention that took place in London this year, where companies show off a number of upcoming games.

During the event a Tekken tournament was held as a smaller community-style competition.

However, the small tournament became the target of the attack due to its association with the larger EGX convention.

It was apparently the only area of the convention without security at the door.

EGX is sponsored by Barclays Bank, which has been targeted a number of times in the past for funding companies linked to fossil fuels.

Three protesters from the organisation Just Stop Oil stormed on stage and covered gaming equipment worth thousands in orange paint.

The group were booed by the crowd as they demanded a ban on fossil fuels.

Gamers were able to resume the tournament shortly after but expensive equipment, such as fighting sticks owned by the competitors themselves, were destroyed in the protest.

Just Stop Oil issued a statement saying: “Video games let us escape into new and exciting dimensions, but real world physics are about to deliver the deaths of billions. 

“Put more carbon into the atmosphere at this point and it’s game over.”

Gamers all over the world have spoken out about the protest – including those who are against the use of fossil fuels – saying it was wrong to destroy property belonging to individuals.

Many smaller professional esports players live paycheck to paycheck, and this financial setback could take a long time to recover from.

Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.