- New scandals of toxic workplace culture ravage the gaming industry
- An article by IGN accuses Bungie of having a toxic workplace culture
- Bungie CEO issues an apology
After a recent IGN report highlighting allegations of racism and sexism, Bungie, the creators of Destiny, have apologized.
IGN Article Accuses Bungie
This year has been full of scandals in gaming companies, concerning toxic workplace culture. This was most evident with the many lawsuits Activision Blizzard has had in recent months, from accusations about sexual misconduct at the workplace to CEOs covering up the crimes.
However, other game companies are not immune to a few rotten apples in their workforce. A report by IGN, Bungie, the creators of Destiny and the older Halo games, highlighted numerous examples of racist and sexist behavior. The article does not mention any specific names, but it says the workplace environment “cultivated a pervasive atmosphere in which women were inferior.”
The report says women were often disproportionally talked over in meetings, had their questions dismissed, had their ability to do their jobs questioned, had their ideas ignored, and then used by men who later took credit for them. Some employees have reported that managers and leads have used slurs to refer to more diverse Destiny characters or, in at least one instance, an individual at the studio.
“Several employees also witnessed discrimination against transgender individuals at the studio, including questions about which bathrooms they were using, refusal to use correct pronouns, and other inappropriate questions,” says the report.
Bungie Responds
As a response to the report, Bungie recently created a Diversity and Inclusivity Committee. It also gave employees anonymous internal methods to ask questions about the company’s practices. Bungie’s CEO Pete Parsons also put out a message on December 10, which was released shortly after IGN’s article. He did not dismiss IGN’s report and apologized to “anyone who has ever experienced anything less than a safe, fair, and professional working environment at Bungie.”
Parsons said that he will not refute or challenge the bad experiences some of Bungie’s employees have had. “Our actions or, in some cases, inactions, caused these people pain,” he said. “I apologize personally and on behalf of everyone at Bungie who I know feels a deep sense of empathy and sadness reading through these accounts.”
Parsons also said that many employees have been removed from the studio without respect to their tenure, seniority, or interpersonal relationships,” and promised to take more action as new allegations come out in light of the report.
“As CEO, it is my job to factor both the past and the future and be accountable for all of it, here and now. Speaking with the team at Bungie, reading the stories, and seeing both known and newly surfaced accounts, it is clear we still have work ahead of us.”
