Videogames industry has its ‘Me Too’ Moment?

Content warning: This article contains discussion about sexual assault.

Two years after a spate of sexual misconduct allegations in Hollywood, the videogames industry appears to be having its own Me Too moment.

A number of women and non-binary people working in the industry have publicly accused prominent figures of misconduct.  

Nathalie Lawhead, an independent game designer published a blog post accusing acclaimed music composer Jeremy Soule of assault.

Videogames designer Zoe Quinn followed accused one of the creators of Night in the Woods Alec Holowka of sexual abuse during their time together in Winnipeg.

Adelaide Gardner took to Twitter to allege that Luc Shelton from the games studio Splash Damage had assaulted her in London in 2018. Splash Damage has issued a statement to Vice indicating that the company is, “aware of the matter and take[s] it very seriously … you should also know that the employee concerned denies any allegations of wrongdoing.”

Infinite Fall has cancelled an untitled project from the Night in the Woods co-creator in response to the accusations. The studio has also postponed the game’s physical release.

The accusers suggested in their posts that there had been a culture of silence and intimidation in the industry surrounding men responsible for sexual assault and harassment.

“I’ve watched enough of the big names in the indie community know about him…and I’ve seen enough to know nothings (sic) going to happen about this particular broken stair unless someone says something,” wrote Quinn in her lengthy Twitter post

“No one has talked about this in the games industry and I don’t know why,” Gardner said.

At the time of writing, none of the men accused had been charged with any crime, and were yet to make any public statements about the allegations.

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Jonathan Foye is Insights’ Editor