According to an extensive report in Gamesindustry.biz, Scavengers Studio Simon Darveau has been accused of a range of toxic and abusive behavior by employees of Scavenger Studio, creators of The Darwin Project and the upcoming game Season.
In Rebekah Valentine’s report, nine current and former employees of the Montreal-based game development studio describe a toxic work environment fostered by creative director Simon Darveau and powered by CEO Amelie Lamarche. (Lamarche was Darveau’s romantic partner when the couple founded the studio.)
The pattern described by employees goes like this: Simon Davreau and other high-level male employees are reported to regularly engage in demeaning behavior, especially towards the women on the team.
These behaviors ranged from sexist slurs to groping down. On one occasion, a developer reportedly said it was “unrealistic” Seasons protagonist (a woman named Abby) shouldn’t be able to play guitar because “the guitar was too complicated for a woman.”
Behavior attributed specifically to Davreau is all the more devastating. A story passed to GI.biz says that Darveau allegedly had an affair with an employee, who simply stopped showing uip at work after Lamarche found out. Another was that Darveau explained his behavior to staff by “comparing himself to a dog in heat – unable to control himself.”
Apparently Darveau would also get drunk and rowdy at corporate parties. At a party in 2019, multiple sources claimed he touched and grabbed women working at the company.
All this behavior was apparently made possible by Lamarche, several of whom pointed out that they could not be impartial at many points in the company’s history because of her relationship with Darveau.
The stories of Darveau’s alleged behavior only go on, and apparently include some shouting matches with employees and even an Xbox representative.
It is worth noting that Simon Darveau’s former company was Ubisoft Montreal, where he was design director Assassin’s Creed III. Reports of an alleged mysoginistic work environment at Ubisoft were a huge story that went public last year.
In response to Valentine’s inquiries, Scavengers Studio outlined the policy it would enact with changes to the company code and sexual harassment reporting process. It told GI.Biz that “certain elements in [their] reviews are incorrect, slightly disproportionate, or missing important pieces. “
The company has not specified which “ratings”.
Read Valentine’s full report to learn more about allegations about Scavengers Studio and how these developments affect their next game.