Employees who spoke to Lamarche later told the story around the office: Darveau allegedly had an affair with the employee, and Lamarche had found out. Sometime later, an office meeting was called in which it was announced that she wouldn't be returning. One major incident that many we spoke to were aware of occurred in mid-2018, and involved an employee who one day simply stopped showing up to work. All those we spoke to also pointed out that they felt this at minimum impacted her ability to be impartial when issues arose, and several said it dissuaded them from reporting problems. This meant that Lamarche was the go-to person for conflict resolution, even if (as it was in many cases) that conflict was with Darveau, with whom all our sources said she was in a romantic relationship up until the last few years. Someone remarked in front of the group that the main character of Season playing the guitar "wasn't realistic" because it was too complicated for a womanĪs Scavengers was a smaller studio - around 30 to 40 people over the last couple of years - there was no dedicated HR. And for those on the receiving end, HR was not an option. Those we spoke to agreed that this environment was allowed to fester in large part due to the fact that much of the sexist conduct was either instigated by Darveau or a handful of employees he favored.
Someone remarked in front of the group that this feature "wasn't realistic" because the guitar was too complicated for a woman, and that she should play a ukulele instead. One former employee described an incident that occurred during a team meeting on Season, where one group was presenting its idea to have the main character, Abby, be able to play the guitar. Multiple women described having numerous inappropriate comments made about their appearance and outfits, with one saying a male employee repeatedly made remarks asking if she was attracted to him or if she would marry him.
Several also said that beyond being degraded, many women at the studio were victims of sexist remarks and behaviors, both from Darveau and from a handful of other male employees. This was said to have happened in casual conversations, public team meetings, and on the studio's work Slack. Several said women were frequently degraded by male employees including Darveau, or infantilized and treated as if they did not know what they were talking about even when speaking from a position of expertise about their own work. "Full Predator Mode"Īlmost every source we spoke to described Scavengers as an environment hostile to women - a "boys' club" culture that was largely permitted by its co-owners or, in Darveau's case, actively led by. However, they also said that the excitement and creativity surrounding both games was tainted by a toxic work environment fostered by the studio's co-founders: creative director Simon Darveau (formerly founder of Spearhead Games and a designer at Ubisoft) and his romantic partner at the time of the studio's founding, CEO Amélie Lamarche. They described a company largely composed of talented people working on projects they deeply cared about across both Darwin Project and Season. has spoken to nine current and former employees of the Montreal-based Scavengers Studio who worked with the company at some point over the past four years, all of whom spoke with us under the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. But according to a number of current and former employees of Scavengers Studio, the game's cozy pitch is dramatically at odds with the work environment of the studio behind it. A young woman leaves her secluded community to explore the world for the first time, documenting her experiences on a cross-country bike ride, and slowly uncovering the mystery of a recurring cataclysm that has halted the world's ability to progress.įollowing the announcement, Season was lauded on social media following for its beauty, its premise, and its promise of a diverse and interesting cast of characters. At The Game Awards 2020, Darwin Project developer Scavengers Studio revealed a beautiful, compelling, and very different new title: Season.
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