You are right that masculinity plays a huge role in the whole story. It is a social dynamic, not a genetic program , though.
It is a conflict between men and different masculinities on all sides. SC is a western, white, male fantasy where you can act out your scifi-dudeness with heavy gear, nice looking ships and big guns. The gameplay is all about stereotypically male dominated activities etc. The devs are mostly men too, especially the top-guys who are in charge while Sandi Gardiner (the only woman in this project in a higher position) is kind of the attractive hostess presenting the game in public. It is a very stereotypical, male-dominated world where dudes rule and women play no important roles at all (which is even mirrored by the fact that there is no female avatar).
On the other side you have groups like the goons and guys like dr. derek smart. The critics of SC seem to be heavily male dominated too. The whole conflict is a conflict between men. In these cases it is quite typical that 'male honor' comes into play, nobody wants to be the fool and lose their face, but especially in this setting where the ideological groundwork idealizes strong, committed men, it is impossible for many of these guys on either side to admit that they were wrong, or that they don't know (so all sides come up with vague explanations that carry no information besides confirming the position of the speaker). So you have these endless, toxic fights in online-forums that don't produce anything constructive, instead the focus is on degrading the male opponent and leaving the battlefield as the triumphant hero.
