State Of Decay 3 Studio Caught In Sexism Row
Sources at Undead Labs claim the studio's transition to Microsoft means the State of Decay 3 dev has been caught in a row of sexism and bullying.
01st Apr 2022 12:00
Undead Labs
State Of Decay 3 Studio Caught In Sexism Row
Sources at Undead Labs claim the studio's transition to Microsoft means the State of Decay 3 dev has been caught in a row of sexism and bullying.
01st Apr 2022 12:00
Undead Labs
The team behind State of Decay 3 is apparently in a state of disarray, as Undead Labs is caught in the midst of accusations of sexism, bullying, and a toxic work environment. From the crunch that tore Rockstar Games apart to allegations of sexism at Insomniac Games, the industry is finally being pulled to task.
The big story has been Activision Blizzard and the Earth-shattering "frat boy" culture alongside tales from within the infamous Crosby Suite. Although things seem to have died down for Bobby Kotick thanks to Microsoft's acquisition largely overshadowing these grim claims, another promising Xbox studio finds itself in a similar situation.
What's Going On With Undead Labs?
According to Kotaku, there's a big reason why State of Decay 3 has been in pre-production for the past two years. Worryingly, the game's announcement at the 2020 Xbox Games Showcase was apparently due to pressure from above, with the team also being forced into handing over an internal demo to higher-ups before they felt it was ready.
Things get murkier when we get to the accounts of 12 current and former employees who wish to remain anonymous. One current developer told the site: "The culture the studio had up until recently was not the most hospitable for anyone that was not a white cishet man. It’s improved in the last six months or so. But the studio hired a lot of diverse talent that it did not adequately support [in the past]."
A former dev added, "When I interviewed at the Lab, I was sold [the idea of] a studio in transition that was making [diversity, equity, and inclusion] a top priority. What it was in actuality was studio leadership painting a DEI face for Microsoft, while women were consistently ignored, dismissed, interrupted, talked over, and blamed." Namely, there are repeated complaints that Microsoft has been "hands-off" at a time Undead could've needed an intervention.
What's Next For State Of Decay 3?
Kotaku reminds us that only a month ago, Xbox Boss Phil Spencer promised he would "do everything possible to ensure that this entire industry is about treating every single person with dignity and respect." Microsoft gave a stock response during Kotaku's interview process, but also championed "an entirely new leadership team" alongside "diverse hires in 2021" that included "42% female or non-binary" and "29% from a racial or ethnic minority group."
All of these problems apparently stem from when former studio boss Jeff Strain sold to Microsoft in 2018. From this point on, the various employees say it felt like he "checked out." Current Studio Head Philip Holt said, "Our past culture does not exemplify who we are now, nor who we want to become." It's clear that the image that Microsoft and Undead Labs want to portray is far from what those interviewed maintain. At the time of writing, State of Decay 3 still has no release window. By the sounds of it though, a AAA title being lost in development hell could be the least of Undead Lab's problems.
About The Author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
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