It’s no surprise that the gaming industry is predominantly male. Statistics from the International Game Developers Association puts the number of women working as developers at just 22%, and it’s even worse in Australia with just 15% from 2015-2016, according to the Australian Bureau Of Statistics.
It should also be no surprise that in such a male dominated profession that claims of assault and sexual harassment run rampant like a plague. A number of incidents have made headlines, most notably the Gamergate controversy back in 2014, but there are many that remain unreported due to factors such as fear of being fired and the lack of action being taken should incidents be brought to light.
However, it appears we’ve hit a pivotal moment in gaming, as workers finally band together to fight the assault and harassment that’s all too prevalent in the industry.
We’re all in this together.
Over the past week, three major incidents have occurred within the gaming industry and the response from all those affected could potentially shape how incidents of assault and harassment will be handled going forward.
While it remains to be seen what happens in the aftermath of these three incidents, the act of workers, organisations, and individuals banding together and/or exposing unacceptable behaviour is significant and it is an important step in the fight to curb toxicity within the video game industry.
Riot Games employees stage mass walkout in protest of treatment by the company
It hasn’t been smooth sailing for the League Of Legends developer following an explosive exposé from Kotaku about the company’s sexist culture. After Riot attempted to resolve a number of harassment and assault lawsuits through forced arbitration, over 150 employees (nicknamed Rioters) at the Los Angeles Riot office staged a walkout in protest of this stance and their treatment by the company.
While strikes and protests at a workplace are not unheard of, this is a first within the video game industry, especially for a large studio like Riot. Kotaku reports that if Riot don’t make any sort of commitment on its stance on forced arbitration by May 16, further action will be taken by its employees.
In response to the walkout, Riot provided the following statement (as per Variety):
“We support Rioters making their voices heard today. We have asked all managers to make every accommodation to allow Rioters to participate during the 2-4pm window, including freeing up meeting times. We respect Rioters who choose to walkout today and will not tolerate retaliation of any kind as a result of participating (or not).
“While we will not make a change to our policies while in active litigation, last Thursday we announced that we’ve made the call to pivot our approach. As soon as active litigation is resolved, we will give all new Rioters the choice to opt-out of mandatory arbitration for individual sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. At that time, we will also commit to have a firm answer on potentially expanding the scope and extending this opt-out to all Rioters. We are working diligently to resolve all active litigation so that we can quickly take steps toward a solution.
“As we have been for the past week, we will continue to listen to Rioters regarding their thoughts on arbitration and we’re thankful for everyone that has taken the time to meet with leadership about this issue.”
Live at the Riot Games walk out. #RiotWalkout pic.twitter.com/ZzJicl8iUM
— Kevin Hitt (@Kevin_Hitt) May 6, 2019
I am participating in the #riotwalkout today. It should not be legal to force workers into arbitration when they suffer sexual harassment– or any other discrimination, really. It's already not legal in several states. I'd like my company to be on the cutting edge of this issue!!
— Laura Michet (@lmichet) May 6, 2019
The #RiotWalkout is a step towards better working conditions for game devs. Hopefully, other companies and devs–like those that still regularly make games–take note of this moment.
— Ray Carsillo (@RayCarsillo) May 6, 2019
Game Workers Unite and French Union Solidaires Informatique investigating Quantic Dream over sexual harassment and assault allegations
Between Ellen Page considering legal action over her work on Beyond: Two Souls, to a number of exposés on the studio’s toxic culture that had contained every awful “-ism” that you can think of, and a lost court case over employee harassment, video game developer Quantic Dream has been mired in controversy over the past year or so.
In the latest incident to hit the studio, Game Workers Unite, an international organisation aiming to improve worker rights in the gaming industry, has issued a press release stating it will join French Union Solidaires Informatique to investigate claims of sexual harassment and assault by Quantic Dream workers.
Specifically, the organisation is asking for employees to come forth with their testimony with the promise of confidentiality and legal help.
In response to the announcement from Game Workers Unite, Quantic Dream has issued out the following statement:
— QUANTIC DREAM #DetroitBecomeHuman (@Quantic_Dream) May 7, 2019
Former Borderlands voice actor accuses Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford of physical assault
Randy Pitchford’s 2019 is going from bad to worse.
The Gearbox CEO is currently in a dispute with David Eddings, former voice actor of the character Claptrap from Gearbox’s immensely popular Borderland series, over issues regarding Eddings’ payment for his work on the games.
Following a series of conflicting back and forths between the two men in regards to what happened behind the scenes, Eddings has come forth and accused Pitchford of physically assaulting him in 2017, as well as accusing the Gearbox CEO of siphoning $12 million meant for employee royalties for a personal bonus, which Pitchford was previously accused of in early 2019.
I ultimately offered to do it for “free” in exchange for past royalties owed plus an apology for something I’ve never spoken about publicly until now: Randy physically assaulted me in the lobby of the Marriott Marquis at GDC 2017.
— David Eddings ? E3 2019 (@davideddings) May 7, 2019
As an aside, seems a bit conspicuous that he chimed in on my salary but didn't mention anything about the $12M of revenue he siphoned away from the employee royalty pool. FYI – GBX employees are asked to take lower salaries with the promise of royalty shares.
— David Eddings ? E3 2019 (@davideddings) May 7, 2019
In response to Eddings’ accusations, Gearbox issued out the following statement to PC Gamer though it didn’t comment on the money siphoning accusation as it is an “ongoing investigation”:
“Gearbox takes any and all claims of this nature very seriously and we will abstain from commenting on the allegations Dave is making because it is a personnel matter.
“We appreciate David’s contributions to the Borderlands franchise and have continued to assert we would welcome him back into the mix as the voice of Claptrap and other future opportunities.”
There has been an outpouring amount of support for Eddings following his assault allegation though it remains to be seen what will happen going forward.