Earlier this summer, the gaming industry underwent another #MeToo movement with accusations of sexual assault and harassment leveled at multiple people. Be it gaming influencers, journalists, esports players, or even individuals at key roles in large game development studios, the effects of the movement has shaken up many major parts of gaming. One of these cases was towards Mike Zaimont, lead design director and programmer at Lab Zero Games, the studio responsible for titles such as the fighting game hit Skullgirls and IndieGoGo-backed RPG Indivisible.
Following accounts made against Zaimont, which accused him of making sexually suggestive comments towards Twitch streamers and prominent fighting game community members, members of Lab Zero Games began to speak out about Zaimont’s creation of a hostile working environment. This prompted key members of the team to leave last month, such as Jonathan “Persona” Kim, an artist for Skullgirls and Indivisible, who has since revealed that Mike Zaimont has fired the entire team at Lab Zero Games. Furthermore, they claim that Zaimont has not agreed to a severance to the fired personnel yet.
This news comes after Mike Zaimont had agreed to transition ownership of the studio to sharing equity with the Lab Zero Games staff, rather than owning the studio outright himself. However, after the sexual harassment allegations went public, a board at the studio requested that Zaimont step down from his position, to which Zaimont refused, causing the aforementioned departures from the team. According to a report from Kotaku, an anonymous employee claimed that only 11 members of the team remained until they were eventually all laid off.
Speaking to Kotaku, Mike Zaimont commented on the layoffs, saying “Unfortunately, Lab Zero was forced into layoffs because we were no longer able to meet our payroll obligations. It is not a decision I made lightly. I personally know how hard it can be to find employment in a poorly performing economy, but we have more debt than cash, and the last thing I would ever do is not pay my hard-working colleagues or our partners for their work. We are exploring all funding options in hopes of bringing those team members back, but right now that’s the reality.” Kotaku also adds that in an email issued to the laid off employees, Zaimont promised to offer severance and cover the staff’s health insurance for the month of September.
While this seems to be the end for Lab Zero Games, Skullgirls IP holder Autumn Games has promised to keep development on the title going with the support of ex-Lab Zero personnel, while Hidden Variable Studios continues to support the mobile version of the game heading into 2021.
Source: Kotaku
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