Uh oh.
Ori and the Blind Forest developer Moon Studios is reportedly an “oppressive” studio that has created a “difficult relationship” with previous publishing partner Xbox.
A report from Gamesbeat says that Moon Studios founders place workers under crunch conditions and have fostered a workplace complete with anti-semetic, sexist and racist banter.
“It’s an oppressive workplace, for sure,” one developer told the outlet. “But it’s hard to pinpoint one thing because, in isolation, all of these incidents, if they happen once, you would think they are small things.
“When you’re dealing with that for [multiple] years, you’re going to see the decline of people’s mental health. I can say that for myself, personally, I was properly messed up after we finished. I’ve never been depressed until that moment. I lost my passion for my job because they drummed it out of me.”
The report also states that Moon Studios’ culture came complete with missed deadlines and conflicts over funding with publisher Microsoft. The studio is currently working on a title that will be published by Private Division.
In a statement to the outlet, Moon’s co-founders Thomas Mahler and Gennadiy Korol refuted the claims.
“We don’t believe the experiences suggested by your questions are representative of the more than 80 Moon Studios team members who are thriving and doing great work every day — nor do we believe they are representative of the experiences of former members of our team,” the pair said as part of a lengthy response. “In fact, we are very proud of our history of making people happy, advancing their careers, and contributing to their financial success.”
Moon’s latest title is Ori and the Will of the Wisps, out now on Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and Switch.
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