Bullying, harassment, as well as prejudice against minority staff, are just a few of the accusations leveled against the Microsoft-owned company that created State of Decay 3, according to a recent investigation. Unnamed active and retired Undead Labs workers told Polygon that they were subjected to widespread sexism in the company and that their complaints were disregarded. State of Decay 3 was plagued by incompetence and conflict among the many groups collaborating on the game, according to a report released today.
According to one present programmer, the producer’s previous atmosphere was “not really the best welcoming for anybody who wasn’t a white cishet male.” “Improvements in the previous six months have been noticeable. The company, on the other hand, has employed a large number of individuals with a wide range of backgrounds and skillsets, whom it had previously been unable to effectively sustain.”
Microsoft Acquisition of Undead Labs
It seems that longtime studio leader Jeff Strain gave the company to the tech giant a few years ago and stunned every single staffer. At the moment the contract was made and while State of Decay 2 was preparing for release, the present, and previous staff informed Kotaku they sensed Jeff had “turned off” the everyday office goings-on. Particularly considering that he “seemed to have little aid,” Strain launched a proactive defense on social media, declaring that he “abides” his management.
Have You Read: E3 Won’t Be Happening This Year
ArenaNet’s head of production Philip Holt joined the studio some as chief strategist, and he was promoted to production executive in May 2020. Holt was instrumental in bringing in the studio’s initial employees, including Anne Schlosser, who now serves as the studio’s cultural supervisor. Active and retired workers informed media outlets that the company’s hostility was not reduced as expected, and in certain instances, the adjustments in management were detrimental.
Prior to the completion of the next Xbox Games Expo, which was scheduled for early last month, Schlosser resigned from the company. Holt and Microsoft were also allegedly pressuring workers to demonstrate their upcoming projects. At the time, the team didn’t want to publicize the title since they didn’t understand the effort and hard work they’d put into it. Attendance in the presentation was described by Microsoft as “voluntary” by the media.
Regardless of the fact that it was first revealed in July 2020, the project is nonetheless claimed to be in pre-production. The company’s employees do have some faith in the game’s potential, however, according to one. “I just hope we don’t repeat the awful behaviors of the previous years,” they remarked, “because it has the potential to be a fantastic game.”
