Crusader Kings developer Paradox accused of “bullying and gender discrimination” • Eurogamer.net

Crusader Kings developer Paradox has been accused of “bullying and gender discrimination”.

Swedish publication Breakit (via GamesIndustry.biz) reported on a union-led employee survey conducted in August that found almost half of the 133 staff who participated experienced “mistreatment”.

Eurogamer has asked Paradox for comment.

According to Breakit, the survey results show the problems are mainly about bullying and gender discrimination”, and “worst for women”.

69 percent of the women who responded said they had experienced abusive treatment. The corresponding figure for men was 33 percent.

“Offensive treatment is a systematic and far too common problem at Paradox,” the unions said in conclusion, according to Breakit.

Another complaint raised is that “perpetrators at managerial level are protected by the company”, which causes employees to feel there is a culture of silence, Breakit reported.

Breakit said the survey results were presented to Paradox’s HR manager and then CEO Ebba Ljungerud last Monday, before staff were told on Wednesday. That same day, 1st September, Paradox announced Ljungerud had stepped down as CEO “due to differing views on the company’s strategy going forward”, with former CEO Fredrik Wester becoming boss once again. Wester told Breakit Ljungerud’s exit had nothing to do with the survey results.

Swedish company Paradox, which is best-known for its grand strategy games such as Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis and Stellaris, told Breakit it will now take action, combining the employee survey with its own internal survey, to be conducted by an external company.

The allegations made against Paradox follow the State of California’s lawsuit against Activision Blizzard over what it alleges to be a “frat boy” culture that created “a breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women”, mainly at Blizzard Entertainment, the maker of World of Warcraft, Diablo and Overwatch.

In July, over 1000 current and former Ubisoft employees across 32 studios signed an open letter in solidarity with Activision Blizzard staff. The letter slammed Ubisoft leadership’s “empty promises” in response to allegations of “systemic discrimination, harassment and bullying” within the company, and proposed an industry wide collaboration to agree a set of “rules and processes for handling reports of these offences”.

The State of California has also filed a lawsuit against League of Legends maker Riot Games for “gender discrimination in hiring, pay and promotion decisions; sexual harassment; and retaliation by Riot Games against its female employees”.