Team17 CEO Michael Pattison has reportedly said the studio will "take a good, long, hard look at itself" following serious allegations of sexual harassment, low pay, and poor treatment.
In a follow-up to its report that detailed the complaints, Eurogamer revealed that a company-wide meeting was held, during which Pattison told staff that he was "committed to taking action to build and maintain a better workplace culture.
One issue reported was Team17's HR department being dismissive of any sexual harassment complaints put forward, and while Pattison said the studio had a zero tolerance policy for this, he admitted it was something it had to work on to "create a safe space where people can bring things to our attention."
On the issue of low pay, the "terrible" £16,000 ($21,800 USD) salaries that some staff received would be immediately reviewed, Pattison said, and other wages would be evaluated alongside industry benchmarks during the next annual review in April.
These salaries were seen as particularly insulting given that staff also found themselves overworked, and Pattison admitted the studio was "struggling" and there were "real problems there".
He said: "As we grow there is always going to be an increasing need to sign potentially more titles, or refocus and sign higher quality titles with more commercial potential. And that's my focus. I'm trying to improve that ratio. I don't want to see us on a continual treadmill of just filling the pipe."
He briefly mentioned the studio's 24-hour U-turn on NFTs by saying the move was "totally outside of the principles and values we have as a company."
The high workload is made worse by what Pattison called a "short-term problem" of Team17's 30 current job vacancies, saying the developer has to be an attractive place for potential new employees to come, adding that "we will get there".
He also briefly mentioned the studio's 24-hour U-turn on NFTs - which prompted staff to speak out after public backlash - by saying the move was "totally outside of the principles and values we have as a company."
Something he didn't mention, despite telling staff "I won't brush over anything that was said", was the complaints made of Team17's group CEO Debbie Bestwick, who had allegedly made staff cry several times by singling them out in meetings.
Staff are said to be cautiously optimistic about Pattison's words, who ended the meeting with a promise that the studio would "pull things around".
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.
Continue reading...
In a follow-up to its report that detailed the complaints, Eurogamer revealed that a company-wide meeting was held, during which Pattison told staff that he was "committed to taking action to build and maintain a better workplace culture.
One issue reported was Team17's HR department being dismissive of any sexual harassment complaints put forward, and while Pattison said the studio had a zero tolerance policy for this, he admitted it was something it had to work on to "create a safe space where people can bring things to our attention."
On the issue of low pay, the "terrible" £16,000 ($21,800 USD) salaries that some staff received would be immediately reviewed, Pattison said, and other wages would be evaluated alongside industry benchmarks during the next annual review in April.
These salaries were seen as particularly insulting given that staff also found themselves overworked, and Pattison admitted the studio was "struggling" and there were "real problems there".
He said: "As we grow there is always going to be an increasing need to sign potentially more titles, or refocus and sign higher quality titles with more commercial potential. And that's my focus. I'm trying to improve that ratio. I don't want to see us on a continual treadmill of just filling the pipe."
He briefly mentioned the studio's 24-hour U-turn on NFTs by saying the move was "totally outside of the principles and values we have as a company."
The high workload is made worse by what Pattison called a "short-term problem" of Team17's 30 current job vacancies, saying the developer has to be an attractive place for potential new employees to come, adding that "we will get there".
He also briefly mentioned the studio's 24-hour U-turn on NFTs - which prompted staff to speak out after public backlash - by saying the move was "totally outside of the principles and values we have as a company."
Something he didn't mention, despite telling staff "I won't brush over anything that was said", was the complaints made of Team17's group CEO Debbie Bestwick, who had allegedly made staff cry several times by singling them out in meetings.
Staff are said to be cautiously optimistic about Pattison's words, who ended the meeting with a promise that the studio would "pull things around".
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.
Continue reading...