Reports of misconduct have been circulating on social media over the last few weeks, with ex-employees sharing their stories of bullying and harassment, with some even going as far as to name specific individuals. This has prompted the Total War developer to release a statement on the official Creative Assembly Twitter account. Sega has yet to comment on the allegations.
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The statement confirms the team is investigating “deeply concerning and serious allegations regarding a former CA employee.” Whilst the team is “dedicated to providing a safe and inclusive environment” for everyone who works at the company, it also acknowledges that it “needs to do better” in light of these allegations. As a result of this information, Creative Assembly is currently working with an unnamed third party to investigate the reports thoroughly.
In what can be seen as an encouraging step from the developer, CA followed up the statement with a subsequent tweet that calls on former employees to contact a specific whistleblowing email address in order to help and support this investigation. By inviting employees to share their experiences, Creative Assembly will be in a better position to enact change within the company and avoid situations such as Ubisoft, where Ubisoft employees launched a public petition to stamp out misconduct.
Creative Assembly is the latest in a line of video game publishers and developers that have come under fire for mistreating employees. Most recently, Activision Blizzard failed to have a gender discrimination lawsuit dismissed after a two-year investigation into the company’s “frat-boy” culture which revealed abuse and harassment levied towards women and ethnic minorities within the company.
With Creative Assembly quickly acknowledging the allegations that have been levied at a former employee, it seems that the management team wants to ensure that this matter is addressed and the culture at the studio is one that is open and inclusive. As shown with the likes of Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard, gamers will no doubt be asking questions surrounding CA’s workplace culture, and if there is a real change in employee safety. Currently, the studio is busy working on its next game, the sci-fi multiplayer shooter Hyenas, it remains to be seen how these allegations will impact the production of the title in the coming months.
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