According to a comprehensive report in Gamesindustry.biz, Scavengers Studio Simon Darveau is accused of a variety of toxic and abusive behavior by employees of Scavenger Studio, producers of The Darwin Project and the upcoming match Season.
In Rebekah Valentine’s report, nine current and former employees of the Montreal – based game development studio described a toxic work environment promoted by the studio’s creative director, Simon Darveau, and made possible by CEO Amelie Lamarche. (Lamarche was Darveau’s romantic partner when the couple founded the studio.)
The pattern described by employees reads as follows: Simon Davreau and other high-level male employees allegedly engaged in derogatory behavior on a regular basis, especially toward the women in the team.
This behavior ranged from sexist remarks or the physical touch. On one occasion, a developer reportedly said it was “not realistic” Seasons protagonist (a woman named Abby) would not be able to play guitar because ‘the guitar was too complicated for a woman’.
Behavior specifically attributed to Davreau is all the more damning. One story passed to GI.biz says that Darveau allegedly had an affair with an employee, who simply stopped showing off at work after Lamarche found out. Another thing was that Darveau explained his behavior to staff by ‘comparing himself to a dog in heat – unable to control himself’.
Darveau would apparently also get drunk and noisy at company parties. At one party in 2019, several sources claim that he touched and grabbed women who worked at the company.
All of this behavior was apparently made possible by Lamarche, who could not be impartial at various points in the company’s history because she was romantically involved with Darveau.
The stories about Darveau’s alleged behavior just go on, and include that he apparently ended up in a number of screaming matches with employees and even an Xbox representative.
It is noteworthy that Simon Darveau’s former company was Ubisoft Montreal, where he was a design director Assassin’s Creed III. Reports of a suspected myogynistic work environment at Ubisoft were a huge story that became known last year.
In response to Valentine’s queries, Scavengers Studio outlined the policies it would pursue in the future with changes to the company’s code of conduct and sexual harassment reporting. It did tell GI.Biz that “certain elements in [their] reviews are false, somewhat out of proportion or missing important pieces. “
The company did not specify what “reviews” were done.
Read Valentine’s full report for more information on allegations about Scavengers Studio and how these developments affect their next game.