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Steve Gaynor, co-founder of studio Gone Home Fullbright, has resigned his role as creative lead for their upcoming game Open Roads, following allegations about his treatment of employees. Several former staff members have come forward claiming that he has a “controlling” and “demeaning” presence and that he fostered a toxic culture that has led to a “model of women leaving” the studio.
Late last night, Fulbright announced on Twitter that Gaynor was moving away from his role as creative director and management at the studio and moving to a role of writer.
“We are a small team who are passionate about creating an inclusive, poignant, story-driven game that gives players a sense of discovery,” they said. “We care deeply about creating games that have a positive impact. We are also strong supporters of promoting a healthy and collaborative work environment, where we can work with transparency, autonomy and trust.”
Shortly after, Polygon released a lengthy report with comments from several former Fullbright employees, detailing Gaynor’s allegedly toxic behavior during the development of Open Roads. They say 15 staff have left the studio since the project began in 2019, including 10 women.
The report points out that while no woman reported sexual harassment or “explicit sexism,” the studio’s toxic culture led to the women being broken by “micro-attacks.” Former employees claim that Gaynor tended to “disparage and discredit the contributions of female employees in particular.”
“This is going to sound like a joke, but I’m dead serious: working for him was often like working for a mean high school girl,” one of the former developers told GamesServer. “His weapon of choice was to laugh at people’s opinions and embarrass them in front of others.”
Former employees said they wanted to report Gaynor’s behavior, but had “no infrastructure to escalate.” Fulbright is a small independent studio with no dedicated HR department, so several staff members claimed to have confronted Gaynor about his actions instead of explaining how he was impacting the team. Some say they have also raised concerns about leaving “anonymous digital post-it notes” as part of a “team building exercise”, others have used their exit interviews to report his behavior, and “at least two, “studio editors told Annapurna Interactive.
“My personal experience of having Steve as a manager was a toxic and unhealthy dynamic,” wrote a former employee in correspondence to Annapurna, which was obtained by Polygon. “I can say with confidence that I don’t want my career associated with him.”
After the Polygon story was published, Gaynor released a statement about his role at Fullbright on Twitter:
“Earlier this year, I stepped down from my role as Creative Lead on Open Roads. My leadership style was hurtful to the people who worked at Fullbright, and I really apologize for that.
“Taking a step back gave me the space and perspective to see how my role needs to change and how I need to learn and improve as a member of a team, including working with a expert management consultant and rethinking my relationship with working at Fullbright.
“I care deeply about Open Roads and the Fullbright team. I’m sad that I took a step back from the day-to-day development of Open Roads, but it was the right thing to do. The Open Roads team have my full confidence and support as they bring the game to a close. ”
Gaynor continues to work on Open Roads as a writer, although he has no “day-to-day collaboration” with the team, and his interactions with them are mediated by Annapurna. It seems some are unhappy with the arrangement, however, given that a man who allegedly exhibited toxic behavior towards women is still writing a story about a mother-daughter relationship.
“It makes my stomach turn to think he can still write these games about women’s stories when that’s the way he treats them in real life, with no sign of stopping,” said a former employee. at JeuxServer. “I want women in the industry and in this studio to feel valued. I want vulnerable young women who are new to the industry to be supported and not exploited. I want women to not have to fear them. retaliation from a powerful ‘perpetrator’ for I want women to feel safe here. I want women to know that this is not normal. More than anything, I just want him to stop. He shouldn’t be allowed to keep getting away with this. ”
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