Former Quantic Dream Employee Wins Legal Battle Against the French Studio
At the beginning of this year, just a few short months before the launch of Detroit: Become Human, reports began popping up that French developer Quantic Dream had a toxic work environment. Despite the complete denial of these allegations by Quantic Dream, a French court has just ruled in favor of a former employee who sued the studio over these working conditions.
This employee quit Quantic Dream after offensive photoshopped images began circulating among the staff. Journalists from three french media outlets, Le Monde, Canard PC, and Mediapart accused both studio heads Guillaume de Fondaumière and David Cage of doing nothing to stop the behavior, alongside allegations of overworking staff and other inappropriate behavior contributing to a toxic work environment. Following this, David Cage released a statement saying he was “shocked” by the allegations as Quantic dream sued all three companies for bad press.
While the lawsuits against the three media outlets are still ongoing, the former employee has just won the lawsuit against Quantic Dream as the court ruled in their favor. As reported by Gamekult journalist Nicolas Turcev via Eurogamer, this was a risky case to make as any employee who quits as a ‘victim’ forfeits all of their employment rights and salary. At this point however, they can petition for unfair dismissal. The process then determines whether the worker should be treated as if they were dismissed and whether they should receive a settlement or unemployment rights.
As the court ruled in favor of the former employee, their decision to quit is being treated as unfair dismissal and they will be eligible for a settlement and unemployment rights. Until now, two other former employees have gone through the same process, both cases of which were dismissed. One of these individuals has filed an appeal.
What do you think about all of this controversy surrounding the french studio? Are you glad the employee won their suit? Let us know in the comments below and don’t forget to keep it locked for updates!