You know the admonishment “Never meet your heroes?” It is becoming something of a mantra within our gaming circles. First there was Riot and Ubisoft. Then, of course the big ship, Activision Blizzard began sinking like the Titanic. Now…it’s Bungie, the developer behind massive giants Halo and Destiny, that is the latest in the industry to come under fire for some truly nasty behaviors. Starting last week with an explosive report by IGN, we became privy to the toxic environment that has festered in Bungie’s walls.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one
Reading like a watered-down version of California’s lawsuits against Activision Blizzard, the report alleges employees of Bungie have been subjected to racism, sexism, discrimination, and more. Words like “overt sexism, boys’ club culture, [and] crunch” makes my head hurt. There are also allegations that HR knew about the abuses and repeatedly protected the abusers.
Allegations of continuing abuse, made by 26 former and current employees, are surprising because of the strides towards transparency Bungie vowed to take in September. Those steps included hiring a Diversity and Inclusion director, update their hiring processes and allow for anonymous HR reporting. Bungie’s CEO Pete Parsons admitted the company has work to do to remove the toxic working environment it had fostered.
Bungie was applauded in the gaming community for taking the initiative and owning up to its mistakes. It is something we have yet to see from Activision Blizzard. However, as the report for IGN details, some employees felt it came too little, too late. After all, this all started back in 2011. Ten years of allowing this kind of suffering to continue without consequences is abhorrent.
Problems at the top
According to those who came forward, the problem goes all the way to the top, including the narrative team. “Several sources spoke of a narrative team lead from that time who appeared to suffer massive burnout during the project, creating an increasingly toxic work environment for others on the team, enough so that team members kept a countdown of days since his last “explosion” on a whiteboard,” IGN stated.
He wasn’t the only example of the toxicity infecting Bungie. Those sources, afraid of retaliation if they named names, spoke about male team leaders making their lives miserable, especially if the employee was a woman or minority. Unfortunately, even if the problematic leaders were let go, other men with similar aggressive, sexist behaviors were hired in their place. And that’s just the beginning of the problems. IGN’s report is quite extensive and exhausting, to be honest, but vital. It once again shines a huge spotlight on the problems plaguing our beloved industry right now.
HR or “Hush and Repeat?”
A saving grace appeared to be the allowance of anonymous HR reporting. However, that has often turned into a sour experience. Repeatedly, sources said they “felt their reports were ignored entirely, while others told us [IGN] they’d been brought into meetings to unexpectedly find the person they’d reported sitting in the room to discuss the issues.”
And many sources talked about one individual, in particular, who has a knack for protecting the accused over the victims. Due to repeated negative encounters with this person and others in HR has bred an atmosphere of distrust.
“It’s a well-known fact, if you talk to HR you’re putting your own job on the line,” one person told IGN. “I’ve watched it happen a few times at Bungie, where someone went to HR and things went completely sideways for them.” However, there has been little to no response from anyone in HR.
What’s next?
When news broke on Thursday, December 16, 2021, of Bungie’s Head of HR, Gayle D’Hondt stepping down, eyebrows raised. In an internal email obtained by IGN, D’Hondt said the change would take effect immediately, although it is unclear whether she will remain within the company.
Even more confusing is the language she used with explaining her motives behind the move. Saying she wants to do “everything in my power to make sure everyone who works here [at Bungie] has a safe, welcoming and supportive environment,” D’Hondt will be working with Holly Barbacovi and the leadership team to figure out what will happen next. She further explained that the company needs to rework management so membership is “largely comprised of people new to Bungie.”
Even as Head of HR, D’Hondt revealed that she too had experienced abuse and reported her abuser. He was subsequently fired. We can only hope the outcome to her story will have repeats in the future.
Helpful resources added to website
On a separate but related note, yesterday, Bungie added a section to their website about mental health, suicide prevention and measures to counter cyber bullying, especially in the Destiny 2 community. The page contains several resources gathered by Bungie with the help of Guardians Mental Health. “Our intention is to destigmatize mental health issues by providing and updating these resources over time. This is not a complete project, but we wanted to share it now with the hope that these resources will help someone who needs them,” the page says. If you or someone you know needs these resources, please check it out.
Can I just say what the heck is going on in our community? Video games encompass so many diverse voices from various backgrounds. So why are we repeatedly hearing about companies who create these games failing to transfer it into their real-life practices? Building safe, inclusive environments not only vastly improves everyone’s lives, but lays foundations for a better tomorrow. I’ve said it repeatedly, and I’ll say it again- we can, and must, do better.
