Life is Strange developer Deck Nine accused of toxic workplace culture in new report

05.04.2024 - 17:23 / eurogamer.net / Square Enix / Rebekah Valentine / Deck

A new investigation into developer Deck Nine — best known as the current steward of Life is Strange, a series celebrated for its diversity and inclusivity — has painted a picture of a studio where toxicity, hate speech, harassment, crunch, bullying, and abusive leadership has been able to fester as a result inaction from senior management.

The lengthy report from IGN's Rebekah Valentine, based on testimony from over a dozen current and former employees across several departments at Deck Nine, makes a number of eye-opening allegations, many highlighting a seeming disconnect between the inclusive values that have made Life is Strange such a beloved hit and those of the studio.

IGN's sources highlight instances of sexual harassment, bullying, transphobia, and other toxicity at Deck Nine, which senior management reportedly let remain «unaddressed for months on end». These include harassment and aggression from an unnamed senior programmer towards female staff — with management said to have first responded to staff complaints by moving his team's desks further away from other departments so his yelling couldn't be heard, rather than take action to address his behaviour directly. The staff member in question was, however, eventually let go.

Similarly, Deck Nine's narrative team — described as one of the «most diverse» at the studio — is said to have faced sexism, harassment, bullying, transphobia, microaggressions, alienation, and more from the wider company, and particular complaints are levied at former Deck Nine chief creative officer Zak Garriss. These range from claims of 'crossing the personal boundaries' of female staff — which Garris rebuts in a lengthy response to IGN — and instances of him «lashing out against those who disagreed with him at work», especially those «fighting for more thoughtful, authentic, or sensitive portrayals of diverse characters».

Garriss is said to have «reprimanded» staff who inquired about the relatively late removal of a transgender character in Life is Strange: True Colours, and is accused of being stubbornly unwilling to listen to staff who raised concerns around «problematic» aspects of the True Colours script. These reportedly included an eventually removed scene in which main character Alex's drink is spiked at a bar, which a number of staff felt could be «untintentionally triggering» for some players, and a eventually ditched late game twist some on the narrative team saw as a «problematic portrayal of migrant workers». Garriss reportedly accused those who pushed against his work and asked for change of «getting too hung up on 'political ideologies'».

IGN reports Garriss later «distanced himself» from the writers on the narrative team, working with another