Ongoing litigation between Detroit: Become Human developer Quantic Dream and two French publications, Le Monde and Mediapart, seems to expose the studio and founder David Cage’s allegedly immoral business practices. This particular dispute dates back to early 2018, during which time the French outlets ran exposés detailing allegations of workplace toxicity at Quantic Dream.
Le Monde and Mediapart specifically called attention to complaints filed by five ex-Quantric Dream employees in Spring 2017, all of whom claimed that hundreds of photoshopped images of staff members had long been circulating within the company. The edited photos of staff reportedly bore sexist, homophobic, and racist overtones, with some even including Nazi symbolism. They apparently weren’t all hidden away either; a number of the photoshopped pictures found their way in open spaces throughout the studio. Co-CEOs David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumière admitted to knowing about some photos but claimed they weren’t aware of any offensive imagery – despite de Fondaumière acknowledging the photoshops in a 2017 email and referring to them as a mistake. The French publications additionally addressed other troubles reportedly plaguing Quantic Dream’s work culture, namely offensive jokes, racism, unhealthy crunch practices, and even sexual misconduct allegations, prompting the studio to file defamation lawsuits against Le Monde‘s and Mediapart‘s journalists.
ResetEra user Maxime shared a translated version of an article written by French labor union Solidaires Informatique about Quantic Dream’s legal dispute with Le Monde and Mediapart. The union reports the French court held a trial for the defamation case on May 27 and May 28, wherein David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumière testified. During the proceedings, Cage allegedly had a tearful breakdown about media interference and his attempt to defend his honor in court. Solidaires Informatique calls out the irony of Cage valuing honor, as the Detroit: Become Human scribe has also been accused of publicly making statements such as, “Anyway, in my games all women are whores.”
Previous claims of fraud surfaced during the trial, too, as Quantic Dream submitted documents regarding an employee’s dismissal in an effort to absolve itself of wrongdoing. Apparently, this move resulted in the opposite effect, with the defense demonstrating how the documentation featured “irregularities” hinting at wrongful termination. Several other letters of dismissal were produced as well, each of them oddly featuring the same text save for employee names. Most peculiar, Solidaires Informatique noted, was that even de Fondaumière’s resignation boasted the following line that appears in other termination documents: “differences of opinion with the management.” And de Fondaumière himself proved of little help to Quantic Dream’s case, at one point asking magistrates, “But I’m not under oath, so can I lie?” The workers union claims the executive then went on to make a series of questionable allegations without offering proof. These antics aside, a verdict should be handed down on July 8.
It’s worth noting that the above information stems from a translated version of the Solidaires Informatique article. For example, the ResetEra member used DeepL Translator, which insists one specific phrase in the report reads, “…a company in serious jeopardy.” Contrarily, Google Translate relays that same excerpt as, “…a society seriously endangered.” These seem minor on the surface but distort context in such a way that calls much of the translated article into question.
Regardless, it appears this case won’t end in Quantic Dream‘s favor – especially if media protections in France resemble those in the US and the UK. And the French studio isn’t the only big-name game company facing legal troubles; litigation surrounding the Ubisoft abuse controversy began in May.
