Quantic Dream Under Investigation After Sexual Harassment Allegations

Quantic Dream gamescom 2023

French developer Quantic Dream, which is known for games like Detroit: Become Human, and Heavy Rain, is under investigation by Game Workers Unite. The investigation comes after sexual harassment reports towards female staffers.

Game Workers Unite has announced that it is joining French union Solidaires Informatique to investigate Quantic Dream. Both the organizations are looking for testimonies from both current and former employees.

In a joint statement by the two organizations, the groups have urged staffers to come forth and speak up about the issues.

We have been informed of acts of sexual harassment and sexual assault committed against women who work and have worked in the company,” according to the press release. “These offenses are extremely serious and are punishable by law, however they seem to be repeated with impunity for several years because of a strong omerta, this must stop.

This is not the first time Quantic Dream is facing allegations. Last year, there were reports of poor working conditions, as employees reported a toxic work environment at the studio. These allegations also included reports of inappropriately photoshopped images, sexism, and racist jokes.

One of the employee quit the studio as a result of the photoshopped images, which were freely accessible to anyone at the studio – and took their case to court, enacting the prise d’acte section of French employment law. This law allows the employee to terminate their own contract and petition for unfair dismissal while forfeiting all claims to employment rights and salary until the cast is tried and a verdict is reached.

In the matter of the case, the court agreed with the former employee that these circumstances contributed to unfair dismissal.

To these allegations, Quantic Dream had responded back then by releasing a statement on Twitter saying that the team is committed to providing a safe and creative work environment, in an open and respectful atmosphere.

We take matters of harassment very seriously. We are not aware of any such cases at our company and strongly encourage victims to immediately contact the relevant authorities.

Quantic Dream has yet to respond to the investigation reports, or if there are any new allegations prompting the investigation. It is quite unfortunate as more issues relating to the toxic work environment in the video game industry are coming to light.

Recently, Riot Games employees staged a walkout to protest the company’s forced arbitration policy for alleged misconduct, while reports of the studio trying to hire candidates on basis of nude pictures.

Post your opinions in the comments below. Let us know what you think of the new allegations against Quantic Dreams.

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About the Author: Salik Shah

An ardent lover for first-person shooter games, Salik has been part of GamesHedge all through its journey. His love for competitive gaming started with Counter-Strike and Call of Duty, and now can be seen lurking in Valorant and Rainbow Six: Siege.

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