Halo Infinite Pro Player Fined After Cursing Out Shooter’s Rocky Second Season

Many of Ganza’s other statements—and interactions with other, non-pro players on social media—from Wednesday struck a similar tone.

“Being fined Kekw [sic]. I’d like to take this moment to apologize,” Ganza tweeted on Thursday. “To absolutely nobody. I stand by everything I’ve said.”

It’s not clear which specific statement triggered the fine or why he’s the only pro Halo player to receive an official penalty in the wake of season two’s rocky rollout, given that he’s far from the only pro to speak out against the changes. Representatives for 343 Industries declined to comment for this story.

“He believes it’s because of the criticism of the game, but it’s not clear to him exactly the tweet or the comment or the specific incident,” Nate Drexler, an attorney and a representative for Ganza, told Kotaku in a phone interview.

Drexler didn’t say exactly how much the fine was, though he noted that it’s a “comparable” number to what Ganza personally paid out of pocket on HCS Kansas City. (Ganza spent $1,600 to help amateur players attend the event.) Under the code of conduct for HCS, fines for “egregious profanity” range from $1,000 to $2,000.

Over the past few days, the Halo community has been split on whether or not a fine is a fair punishment. The folks at HaloHub, a community-run site that focuses on Halo news and player statistics, acknowledged that Ganza used some “choice words” but said that 343 handing out the fine was a “bad look.”

Those remarks set off a social media debate in the comments. On the one hand, you have people who say Ganza is part of a professional organization and is therefore beholden to the rules of said organization. Plus, they say, he signed a contract. Rules are rules. If IRL pro athletes have to follow them, pro esports athletes do, too. On the other hand, though, you’ll find people saying the paperwork can go to hell. If a studio needs to hide behind a contract to protect itself against criticism from its most public-facing figures, maybe there are other things (aka, the design decisions) that merit wider scrutiny.

The pro community has largely stood behind Ganza.

“On a real note, nothing but respect for helping so many get to the event. No idea what the fine was for but hope it wasn’t too heavy,” Paul “Snakebite” Duarte, a member of Halo esports team Sentinels, tweeted. Emil Ekman, a pro player with European team Frostbite, called his actions “heroic.” Here’s another tweet, from eUnited’s Jen “Echidna” Hal, that made me laugh: a meme with Ganza photoshopped into Skyrim alongside a dialogue tree with three options, one of which reads, “Fine (pickpocket level 20).”

Ganza, meanwhile, has spent the past few days commenting “fined” on posts from other pros critiquing the season two updates.

“Tyler is a passionate and emotional person [who’s] been playing this game for his entire life. He wants to be the best at it,” Drexler said. “Tyler made clear that he wasn’t going to apologize for his statements, and he still stands by that. His statements, whether in jest or total seriousness, reflect his desire to have a game that is not broken and ready for professionals to play…When he plays a game that’s not where it should be, he feels strongly [that] he should voice his opinion on that.”