Dozens of current and former employees for LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga have spoken up about harassment and forced crunch while making the game.
Recent reports from TT Games employees reveal a bevy of allegations directed towards the company during the production of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
According to Jack Yarwood at Fanbyte, roughly 30 current and former employees of the developer have come forward anonymously to speak on the culture at TT Games. Reportedly, employees revealed numerous instances of “premeditated crunch, mishandled projects and allegations of sexual harassment” under the company’s previous management, with continuing micro-management issues from the new leadership. These issues resulted in a high staff turnover in the last few years, with at least forty resigning their positions since 2021, though Yardwood notes that number has “grown considerably” since it was first reported to him.
Since the release of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, many of the crunch issues have subsided. However, the employees report that the company’s management is dismissive of the other allegations. TT Games vice-president and studio head Michael Denny even accused Polygon of reporting on the subject previously just to time it with the game’s release. One senior member of the production team reportedly referred to the allegations as an “attack,” while Denny dissuaded employees from talking to the press about the accusations.
Denny told staff in a company-wide email, “On a different note, the Polygon article has now gone live. The timing is clearly intended to capture attention off the publicity surrounding our [LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga] announcement. And it’s clear the reaction overall is for people to talk about the Game rather than this article.”
Reportedly, the trailer for LEGO Star Wars was moved up to release after the article to take attention away from the allegations. “The article was presented as an attempt to kybosh the LEGO Star Wars trailer,” said one former employee who worked on the day the trailer was released. Three other employees backed up their statement. “Everyone knew it was bollocks,” they continued. “They brought it forward for damage limitation. There was no comment to staff about the allegations really. The town hall on the day was more about ‘There’s an article, don’t go talking to anyone.’”
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and TT Games have been in the news in recent days due to considerable bug issues with the game. Players reported game-ruining glitches throughout the game, with the most often reported being in Maz’s castle during Episode VII when players need to speak with her to continue the mission. For many, the game won’t let them continue, and they get stuck inside the building. TT Games took a month to respond to the issue, finally telling fans on Twitter that a patch was in the works. LEGO Star Wars players expressed ire at the lack of a date for the fix and complained about the lack of communication with fans.
TT Games has yet to comment on the allegations or the consternation of fans.
Source: Fanbyte
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