A high-level executive with the developer of the hit video game “Destiny” was the target of pranksters at his Sammamish home early Thursday morning.

The unnamed executive with Bungie Studios, also known for developing the Xbox flagship property “Halo,” was awoken around 4 a.m. Nov. 6 as Sammamish Police responded to a call that someone at the home was holding the family at gunpoint, demanding money for their release. Once on scene, officers were able to determine that the call was a fake.

Sammamish Police Chief Nathan Elledge said that such calls put both the public and police at risk.

“If we think that a call is a live hostage situation, we are going to respond like it is,” Elledge said. “The homeowner has no idea we are coming. This time we were able to bring the homeowner out to talk to police before we called out for a SWAT team.”

The call is another example of the Internet prank known as “swatting,” where pranksters use VoIP and phone spoofing technology to place prank calls to 911 and emergency services in an attempt to draw a response to a certain location, usually a home or office.

Originating from online competitive gaming and message board communities like 4chan, the prank draws its name from the pranksters’ goal of eliciting a response by SWAT teams. As of this writing, no claim of responsibility has been made.

This is not the first time Sammamish PD has been the tool of somebody’s swatting prank. In 2011, police were called to another home on a fake hostage call received by teletype.

Bungie Studios declined to comment, citing the executive’s desire for privacy, however everyone involved is okay, company representative Genevieve Waldman said.

Officers were able to determine that the call was made using a computer in another location. If identified, the prankster faces a charge of filing a false report, a gross misdemeanor which carries a possible penalty of a $5,000 fine and up to a year in jail.

Anyone with information is urged to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311.