Midboss, GaymerX head steps down after harassment allegations

Matt Conn, the founder of the LGBTQ event GaymerX and head of developer MidBoss, has stepped down from both roles after allegations of sexual harassment.

“Effective immediately I’m resigning from GaymerX and all activities involved in that and I’ll also be taking a leave from MidBoss once I can make sure the remaining employees payroll is handled,” Conn advised via tweet.

Last week, former employee Tyler Gausvik tweeted that Conn allegedly committed “a lot of sexual harassment/misbehavior, emotion manipulation, and other really toxic behavior. I was threatened with litigation when I spoke out.” Additional employees added their own experiences to the claims shortly afterward.

“I assumed that when I asked people what they wanted for pay and they lowballed me that was OK but I didn’t realize what pain I would put them in and how badly I was abusing them,” Conn said in a series of tweets, responding to the allegations. “I have never ever not paid what I promised, but I realize as a community leader that doing business like that goes against the ethos of what GaymerX stands for.

“In regards to my behavior, I’ve never intentionally tried to make anyone uncomfortable, but I know my intense management style and just unconventional lifestyle puts people off and if I wanna have a career I need to act right.”

GaymerX was founded in 2013 and, according to its website, focuses “on creating a fun and safe space for gamers of all identities to have fun and hang out with like minded folks,” stressing that “GaymerX is made for everyone and everyone is welcome.” Events have been held in San Francisco, Santa Clara, New York and Sydney.

MidBoss’ 2064: Read Only Memories was first released in 2015, followed by a PS4 release in 2017 and recent releases on Xbox One, Switch and iOS this year. It heads to Android next month.