Fullbright Co-Creator Steve Gaynor, best known for his work creating indie adventure Gone Home, has stepped back from his role as creative lead on upcoming game Open Roads amid reports of toxic work culture.
Gaynor's shift in position was announce on the Open Roads Twitter account (below), which said that he had "stepped back from his role as creative lead and manager," and now worked as a writer without "day-to-day responsibilities" on the project. Gaynor himself confirmed that the shift in role was because, "My leadership style was hurtful to people that worked at Fullbright."
Speaking to Polygon, 12 former employees of the company reportedly said that their decision to leave was at last partially due to Gaynor's behavior towards staff and, in particular, women on the team.
In the article, Polygon report that staff spoke anonymously out of fear of retaliation, describing the work environment at Fullbright as being "controlling" with workers feeling "undermined and demeaned by Gaynor". The former staff said that they hadn't experienced or been witness to sexual harassment or explicit sexism but that hidden behind a "veneer of inclusivity", members of the team were subject to the studio's toxic culture, with women "repeatedly broken down by microaggressions."
A Fullbright representative confirmed that, “Steve stepped down in March 2021 after it became clear that the steps that were already being taken to improve his interactions with the team were only yielding temporary results.”
Gaynor's Twitter thread on the subject said that stepping back from the role has given him the "space and perspective" to see how his role needs to change and how he needs to "learn and improve as part of a team". He then closed his statement by saying that stepping back from the day-to-day development of Open Roads was "the right thing to do."
Open Roads is a narrative adventure about a mother and daughter (played by Keri Russel and Kaitlyn Dever) who embark on a roadtrip "to discover what has been left behind in evocative places forgotten to time."
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN.
Source
Gaynor's shift in position was announce on the Open Roads Twitter account (below), which said that he had "stepped back from his role as creative lead and manager," and now worked as a writer without "day-to-day responsibilities" on the project. Gaynor himself confirmed that the shift in role was because, "My leadership style was hurtful to people that worked at Fullbright."
Speaking to Polygon, 12 former employees of the company reportedly said that their decision to leave was at last partially due to Gaynor's behavior towards staff and, in particular, women on the team.
In the article, Polygon report that staff spoke anonymously out of fear of retaliation, describing the work environment at Fullbright as being "controlling" with workers feeling "undermined and demeaned by Gaynor". The former staff said that they hadn't experienced or been witness to sexual harassment or explicit sexism but that hidden behind a "veneer of inclusivity", members of the team were subject to the studio's toxic culture, with women "repeatedly broken down by microaggressions."
A Fullbright representative confirmed that, “Steve stepped down in March 2021 after it became clear that the steps that were already being taken to improve his interactions with the team were only yielding temporary results.”
Hi all. I have a statement to share about my role at Fullbright.
Earlier this year, I stepped back from my role as creative lead on Open Roads. My leadership style was hurtful to people that worked at Fullbright, and for that I truly apologize.
— Steve Gaynor (@SteveGaynorPDX) August 5, 2021
Gaynor's Twitter thread on the subject said that stepping back from the role has given him the "space and perspective" to see how his role needs to change and how he needs to "learn and improve as part of a team". He then closed his statement by saying that stepping back from the day-to-day development of Open Roads was "the right thing to do."
Open Roads is a narrative adventure about a mother and daughter (played by Keri Russel and Kaitlyn Dever) who embark on a roadtrip "to discover what has been left behind in evocative places forgotten to time."
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN.
Source