Hold My Beer: Here Comes A New Challenger
A week back, IGN reported on the troubling practices going on at Bungie. And now, the studio’s Head of HR, Gayle d’Hondt, is stepping down from her role.
Upon resignation, she sent out a company-wide email, which was obtained by IGN.
I know that they need to be trusted to be your advocates – not labeled as ‘enablers’ or seen as company resources who provide bad actors with safe harbor…
[d’Hondt’s time at the company had been punctuated by] deeply challenging interpersonal conflicts [up to and including firing employees for] performance, bad behavior, and for discrimination, racism, and sexual harassment.[Bungie will have to] move forward [a new HR team] largely comprised of people new to Bungie.
Notably, she points out having to deal personally with incidents directed at herself from, “a man, an executive, and someone I thought was my friend at Bungie—which resulted in Bungie firing him.”
She apparently concludes her email with the following:
I am proud of the work I did at this company. I believe I made recommendations that were in the best interest of our people and in service of the company we wish to become. I also believe we made some mistakes, and that to become the better version of ourselves – the company I know we can be – we have to acknowledge and confront them, in good faith, and grow together.
In short, Bungie seems to be following the same trajectory every other Western dev is currently following. We might even have a good old fashioned tournament going on soon to determine the worst of the lot.
Source: Kotaku