Brianna Wu: 'I'm not going to get bullied out of this industry'

Despite an ongoing investigation into death threats made against her and her husband, Brianna Wu was on MSNBC yesterday and CNN today to both talk about the issue and promise that she isn't going anywhere.

"I am not going to get bullied out of this industry by some people that are this threatened by women that just want to sit here and make video games," she told a CNN reporter. "It is ridiculous."

Wu, head of development at Boston-based Giant Spacekat, left her home Friday night after receiving specific, violent threats against herself and her husband from someone who also tweeted her home address.

Capt. Richard Flynn, investigations commander with the Arlington Police Department, confirmed with Polygon Saturday that the incident is under investigation with the department's Criminal Investigation Bureau. Wu also told Polygon that she has been in contact with the FBI about the threats. Reached for comment today, an FBI spokeswoman said they couldn't confirm or deny any investigation and referred us to the police department.

Saturday afternoon, Wu said, Giant Spacekat's financial accounts were being targeted by hackers.

Contacted today, Wu told Polygon that she can't go home yet, but that the attacks on her finances appear to have been unsuccessful. She discovered that her studio's Apple account was being attacked when she found it locked down and contacted Apple for details. When a developer sells games on iTunes they need to provide banking and tax information in order to receive payment, she said.

"Apple has been wonderful," she said. "I'm sure when the police contact them for details, they'll find a willing partner to help in the investigation."

We've reached out to Capt. Flynn for an update on the investigation and will update this story when police respond.

Wu is the latest in a series of female developers attacked online for speaking about feminism in video games. In August, Depression Quest developer Zoe Quinn was subjected to threats and harassment, as was Tropes vs Women in Games creator Anita Sarkeesian.

In July, Polygon published an editorial from Wu in which she outlined the rampant harassment that she sees women in games regularly enduring. Earlier this week, Wu appeared on MSNBC to discuss the threats against her and others. Today, Wu was on CNN to discuss what she said is one of the roots of the problem.

"You have players which are taking in these unconscious messages — women are not welcome here, this is our turf, this is our space — and then as a result of that we have a very hostile culture toward women," she said in the CNN interview. Check out CNN for the full two-minute interview.

This afternoon, she told Polygon her current focus is on safety.

"I want to get safe," she said. "My main mission right now is to get safe, to find a place to live until this blows over."