Moon Studios OriGames are some of the best and most beautiful platformers. Some developers claim that the exact same cannot be said about the founders of the studio who made them. According to a new report from VentureBeatFormer and current developers claim Moon could be an oppressive workplace where racism and casual sexism are tolerated.
Warning: Rape.
Moon Studios, headquartered in Vienna, Austria was founded in 2010 and is headed by Gennadiy Korol. It was released Ori and The Blind ForestIn 2015, it received much praise and a sequel that was equally acclaimed. Ori and The Will of the Wisps2020. Both were published by Microsoft. Despite the fact that developers are distributed around the globe, they were published by Microsoft. Telled VentureBeatMahler and Korol managed to create a toxic workplace atmosphere with sexist jokes, derogatory remarks, and even sexist jokes.
One screencap from a work chat shared with VentureBeat shows Korol writing, nobody really cares what your thoughts are followed by Mahler writing: lol, you’re retarded. However, it is not clear who the comments are directed at. VentureBeat also reports Mahler saying, after a long meeting, I really need to have a woman.
According to the founders, they created an open workplace that allowed people to express their opinions freely. VentureBeat. They could say whatever they wanted and not worry about being fired. It was a no-bullshit studio. According to almost all developers we interviewed, this left the door open for founders to insult each others and anyone else they felt like demeaning in private or public.
We don’t believe what the suggestions by [VentureBeats]These questions are representative for the more than 80 Moon Studios employees who are thriving and doing amazing work every day. We don’t believe they are representative or representative of the experiences of past members of our team, Mahler wrote in a statement. VentureBeat. We are not perfect, however we are passionate about our talent. We are always striving to improve. We regret ever making anyone feel uneasy or letting anyone down. We will never stop trying to improve.
Moon Studios is currently working on the next game, code-named Forsaken. According to VentureBeatIt will be darker than the. OriMahler insisted that the main characters’ origin stories revolve around rape at one point in the development process.
This rape scene would supposedly motivate the sweet, small-town character in the game to do the badass stuff they do in the rest. VentureBeat writes. It was controversial among the other developers. Mahler apparently eventually relented after weeks of arguments.
Moon Studios did no immediate respond to a request to comment (Update: 3/18/22, 4:01 p.m.:The studio was provided Kotaku It gave the same statement. VentureBeat(But he declined to comment).. In a statement, Mahler and Korol didn’t address any of these allegations directly. VentureBeatThey were, however, discussed them in a meeting before the story was published.
Korol said to his staff that it was a good idea. VentureBeat. However, this is clearly an attempt to show that there is something more. It’s not fair, to be honest. The way this article characterizes things may be unfair. This doesn’t mean that we are perfect. This does not mean we should not strive to improve.
Mahler, who was reportedly making disparaging remarks about work chats, stated in the staff meeting that there had been efforts to clean up the chat. Korol however said that he didn’t want to see the studio have to walk on eggshells.
These allegations are made as more game developers speak out publicly or in press reports about how they are treated by the studios behind their beloved games. There have been numerous complaints about MisconductAnd crunch continue pouring out, companies both big Small and mediumAll across the gaming industry were implicated.
Microsoft did not immediately reply to a request to comment about any information it knew about working conditions at Moon Studios, while it was a publisher partner, or any systems it had in place to audit them. It is currently closing a deal with Activision Blizzard. There have been media investigations and lawsuits since last summer. Sexual harassment and discrimination alleged to be widespread.
Here is the complete statement Moon Studios has provided VentureBeat:
We don’t believe that the experiences you describe are representative for the more than 80 Moon Studios employees who are thriving and doing great job every day. Nor do we believe that they are representative the past experiences of our team members. We are proud of our past history of making people happy, helping them advance their careers, and contributing financially to their financial success.
Moon Studios was founded on a simple idea. We wanted to create a global studio that was not bound by geographical boundaries, allowing us to attract top talent from all over the globe. We wanted to create an environment where our team thrives, and we can deliver the best work in our industry. We also wanted to share the benefits and rewards of our efforts from the beginning with the whole team. We are proud of what we have achieved.
Our team is so strong because of our cultural and global diversity. We have team members from more than 40 countries on four continents. We also have a flat studio structure that allows everyone the freedom to talk honestly and direct and to challenge each other to do their best work. We wanted to create a different type of studio. One that encourages creativity, open communication and collaboration.
Two award-winning games were the result. There are more on the horizon. A team of professionals who enjoy working together, excel in their industry and share in the financial success Moon Studios. While we can sometimes be harsh in our criticisms and challenges, our praise is genuine and vocal. We are extremely proud and happy with everything we have accomplished together.
We also appreciate the irony of being an Austrian Jew and an Israeli Jew who started this multi-cultural enterprise. We see each other as brothers. We often tease and argue with each other, just like brothers. We have made jokes about our differences and sometimes made fun of each other. There have been times when our teasing of one another may have come off as insensitive or made others feel uncomfortable.
Moon Studios has been successful for 12 years. Over these 12 years, we have grown and learned so many things. We have had the privilege of working with many, many talented and great people. We are grateful to our team, both those who have worked at Moon and are now moving on to other ventures. We are proud to have made a difference in people’s lives. While we are not perfect, we care deeply about our talent and work hard to improve. We regret any time we have made anyone feel uncomfortable or let down. We will always strive for perfection.