Bungie director fired after internal investigation

erek

erek

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"Barrett, a Bungie director who had been with the studio since 1999, was fired earlier this year after the investigation revealed multiple complaints filed against him by female employees for “inappropriate behavior.” According to the report, he made comments about female employees’ attractiveness and allegedly suggested his status within the company could help further their careers."

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/28/24230673/bungie-director-fired-after-internal-investigation
 
erek said:
"Barrett, a Bungie director who had been with the studio since 1999, was fired earlier this year after the investigation revealed multiple complaints filed against him by female employees for “inappropriate behavior.” According to the report, he made comments about female employees’ attractiveness and allegedly suggested his status within the company could help further their careers."

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/28/24230673/bungie-director-fired-after-internal-investigation
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They need to drain the swamp over there at Bungie. It's apparently infested with DEI wackos and sexual predators.
 
Well, my question is: what happened to warrant an investigation in the first place? Were they trying to trim the fat and looking under every stone for something to fire him with? Did someone get passed on a promotion and decide to open their mouth? Did the DEI police decide there wasn’t enough equity?
 
Usual_suspect said:
Well, my question is: what happened to warrant an investigation in the first place? Were they trying to trim the fat and looking under every stone for something to fire him with? Did someone get passed on a promotion and decide to open their mouth? Did the DEI police decide there wasn’t enough equity?
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Numerous HR complaints, complete with screenshots and recordings.
Sony likely didn't want to repeat Blizzard's mistakes and made short work of the situation once they found out.
 
Usual_suspect said:
Well, my question is: what happened to warrant an investigation in the first place? Were they trying to trim the fat and looking under every stone for something to fire him with? Did someone get passed on a promotion and decide to open their mouth? Did the DEI police decide there wasn’t enough equity?
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I'm wondering why it matters? If the did the deed, they should face the consequences, no matter what brought it to light. DEI and this situation are two completely different situations.
 
auntjemima said:
I'm wondering why it matters? If the did the deed, they should face the consequences, no matter what brought it to light. DEI and this situation are two completely different situations.
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Sometimes they pretend it's just one bad apple and that they've fixed the problem by getting rid of a scapegoat. Or maybe someone didn't like that one person and was looking for/manufacturing an excuse to get rid of him (doesn't seem to be the case here.)
 
1_rick said:
Sometimes they pretend it's just one bad apple and that they've fixed the problem by getting rid of a scapegoat. Or maybe someone didn't like that one person and was looking for/manufacturing an excuse to get rid of him (doesn't seem to be the case here.)
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Yeah, this guy had been around for decades; if the leadership thought he was just all-around abrasive or underperforming, they would have ditched him a long time ago. This definitely involves the allegations against him, and when there are multiple complaints there's very likely something to them.
 
auntjemima said:
I'm wondering why it matters? If the did the deed, they should face the consequences, no matter what brought it to light. DEI and this situation are two completely different situations.
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I agree, if someone is guilty then fire ‘em, there’s no place for people who make a work place toxic for others. On the other hand I asked because I’ve seen instances where people get terminated for manufactured bs. I’ve seen good workers get transferred out because people like to embellish. I’ve seen my management dig so much looking for excuses to fire people to save on money/hours, and then replace them with a new, cheaper employee.

I asked because when were those complaints filed, and what spurred Sony to look into the matter? The wording makes it seem like those complaints existed for some time, so who or what caused Sony to look into the matter? Was it standard protocol to do a check on all employees since they’re basically gutting bungie? Did someone whisper in someone else’s ear to cause the investigation?

Not defending the guy, obviously he had complaints against him, but even the link snippet of the article seems to say he “allegedly,” which means lack of proof, which is probably why they were never acted on. I’m all about innocent ‘til proven guilty, in this case it doesn’t seem that the claims were formally investigated, and from the sounds of it Sony just didn’t want to deal with the situation and fired him, whether everything they said he did was true or not.
 
Usual_suspect said:
Not defending the guy, obviously he had complaints against him, but even the link snippet of the article seems to say he “allegedly,” which means lack of proof, which is probably why they were never acted on. I’m all about innocent ‘til proven guilty, in this case it doesn’t seem that the claims were formally investigated, and from the sounds of it Sony just didn’t want to deal with the situation and fired him, whether everything they said he did was true or not.
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HR would not be able to make an official statement confirming they did do something without taking it to a trial.
It would open them up to slander lawsuits, so they don’t confirm or deny something actually happened, just that they have reasonable suspicion of inappropriate activity and that they were terminated accordingly.
Alternatively if the terminated individual firmly believes they are innocent and an investigation wasn’t properly conducted wrongful termination lawsuits exist for a reason. Lawyers love them because the absence of evidence and documentation helps their case.
 
The investigation found that Barrett called lower-level female employees attractive asked them to play truth-or-dare and made references to his wealth and power within the studio
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OMG What a monster! To the gallows immediately!

And of course it is Jason Schreier again. I swear the guy is a shit stirrer. I question the validity of everything he writes.

The developer was probably ousted for other reasons and this is just the excuse they used to let him go. If there was actual misconduct you can bet a woke company like this wouldn't just quietly let him go but probably have him dragged out in handcuffs.

Here is the original article (unlocked) in case someone else wants to read the full BS story.
 
Thunderdolt said:
This is what did it. Random comments about attractiveness are bad but rarely fireable. A boss suggesting that an employee sleeping with him would lead to promotions is 100% instantly fireable 100% of the time.
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Yes, you also don't want the idiots that get promoted to rise to the top either. It's bad for the company. If they were, they should get demoted.

Of course, logically speaking, the ones that did, probably kept their mouths shut.
 
Lakados said:
HR would not be able to make an official statement confirming they did do something without taking it to a trial.
It would open them up to slander lawsuits, so they don’t confirm or deny something actually happened, just that they have reasonable suspicion of inappropriate activity and that they were terminated accordingly.
Alternatively if the terminated individual firmly believes they are innocent and an investigation wasn’t properly conducted wrongful termination lawsuits exist for a reason. Lawyers love them because the absence of evidence and documentation helps their case.
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Well, I'd imagine in a case like this--it's one huge grey area. Since no details were released, I'll assume there will be a lawsuit in the near future. If there were concrete, set in stone evidence that what he did was egregious and absolutely something he'd get terminated for then it'd vindicate the company while simultaneously make them look bad for letting something like this continue to happen, on the other hand, which I think would/will happen is it'll be settled out of court and this whole story goes away.
 
Usual_suspect said:
Well, I'd imagine in a case like this--it's one huge grey area. Since no details were released, I'll assume there will be a lawsuit in the near future. If there were concrete, set in stone evidence that what he did was egregious and absolutely something he'd get terminated for then it'd vindicate the company while simultaneously make them look bad for letting something like this continue to happen, on the other hand, which I think would/will happen is it'll be settled out of court and this whole story goes away.
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There is no lawsuit this happened months ago. Just another nothing burger fake grievance story by Schreier designed to make companies look bad. He writes nothing else. He finds low level woke employees and spins their perceived grievances as "corporate culture bad".
 
erek said:
"Barrett, a Bungie director who had been with the studio since 1999, was fired earlier this year after the investigation revealed multiple complaints filed against him by female employees for “inappropriate behavior.” According to the report, he made comments about female employees’ attractiveness and allegedly suggested his status within the company could help further their careers."

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/28/24230673/bungie-director-fired-after-internal-investigation
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This is funny to me since this guy's wife (and him) were involved along with a bunch of other people that harassed another dude for similar reasons. I guess it's another if you protest too much... lol.
 
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My take on it:

8182e2b7-9e78-4791-92e6-89036fad4c60_text.gif
 
Dan_D said:
They need to drain the swamp over there at Bungie. It's apparently infested with DEI wackos and sexual predators.
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Being a DEI wacko *is* wanting to drain the swamp of sexual predators. being anti-woke is thinking firing this guy is an assault on his privilege and free speech.
 
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idiomatic said:
Being a DEI wacko *is* wanting to drain the swamp of sexual predators. being anti-woke is thinking firing this guy is an assault on his privilege and free speech.
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Nah, this guy was probably pro DEI. 😉

"We need more women".
"I won't hire anyone but a black women as my assistant."
"Ok, I'm feeling we could really use some Asian women."
"Ok, now we need some latinas around the office."
"We need some red heads."
Etc.
 
Well it was tech news and then went sharply to the right…….
 
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It's tech news, but not the usual Shiny New Device news. If anything it highlights how game devs have had a problem with guys who make life miserable for women coworkers (see also: Riot, Ubisoft). Not that this is a problem unique to the industry, but it does affect the business and the people who work in it.
 
Aurelius said:
Yeah, this guy had been around for decades; if the leadership thought he was just all-around abrasive or underperforming, they would have ditched him a long time ago. This definitely involves the allegations against him, and when there are multiple complaints there's very likely something to them.
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yeah but 20 years ago you didn't have purple haired gen-z weirdo's that are offended by everything. if they figure he's too male and too stale and find out something like he's a Trump supporter they'll collude and manufacture complaints that they know can and will get somebody "cancelled" in this day and age of "woke"
 
idiomatic said:
Being a DEI wacko *is* wanting to drain the swamp of sexual predators. being anti-woke is thinking firing this guy is an assault on his privilege and free speech.
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i think you're confused. "the swamp" is the DC deep state. so you're way off. and as to your second statement, TDS flare up maybe? take a chill pill dude and come back down to earth. we get it you hate constitutional rights and probably one of the "burn it all down" people. but this isn't the place for that.

edit: you picked the perfect screen name tho so big ups on that.👍
 
sharknice said:
God forbid people have a sense of humor.
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I'll bet you've got some great rape jokes too. Or maybe we could all have a good laugh together about your mother or sister being sexually harassed at work! That's pretty funny right?

/s
d3athf1sh said:
yeah but 20 years ago you didn't have purple haired gen-z weirdo's that are offended by everything. if they figure he's too male and too stale and find out something like he's a Trump supporter they'll collude and manufacture complaints that they know can and will get somebody "cancelled" in this day and age of "woke"
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Or maybe, just maybe this was a bad guy doing unacceptable things in the workplace? Or do you have insider info that all this was manufactured to get rid of him? Maybe you don't consider workplace sexual harassment a problem?
 
gtrguy said:
I'll bet you've got some great rape jokes too. Or maybe we could all have a good laugh together about your mother or sister being sexually harassed at work! That's pretty funny right?

Or maybe, just maybe this was a bad guy doing unacceptable things in the workplace? Or do you have insider info that all this was manufactured to get rid of him? Maybe you don't consider workplace sexual harassment a problem?
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how does it go? if you can't take the heat, stay in the kitchen

/s

just sayin, if it was me. i probably wouldn't even hire any women if i was starting a game studio. just too many unneeded headaches. just like in construction.

who made your games then:
legends.jpg


who makes your games now:
now.jpg



and people wonder why these "woke" games keep failing... 🤷‍♂️
 
d3athf1sh said:
how does it go? if you can't take the heat, stay in the kitchen

/s

just sayin, if it was me. i probably wouldn't even hire any women if i was starting a game studio. just too many unneeded headaches. just like in construction.

who made your games then:
View attachment 677643

who makes your games now:
View attachment 677644


and people wonder why these "woke" games keep failing... 🤷‍♂️
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You don’t solve the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace by being sexist and sending women’s rights back 100 years. This isn’t a job that only men can do like working an oil rig or being a fireman. The problem with wokeness isn’t because of women. It’s from idiots from the top down using DEI to hire unqualified people and to push an agenda over good story, gameplay, or characters. If all of the women in the second picture are there to push an agenda, then none of them are qualified to make a good game. But it’s not because they’re women. It’s because they’re brainwashed.

You just don’t go down that route, or you end up like the Middle East where they cover their women from head to toe, including their faces, so the men can “control” themselves around women. Men could just practice self control and be civilized and not be morons. We’re not a third world country.
 
d3athf1sh said:
yeah but 20 years ago you didn't have purple haired gen-z weirdo's that are offended by everything. if they figure he's too male and too stale and find out something like he's a Trump supporter they'll collude and manufacture complaints that they know can and will get somebody "cancelled" in this day and age of "woke"
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Please don't try to drag this back to the obsession with waging a culture war against DEI and "wokeness."

If a manager keeps making unwelcome comments about his underlings' attractiveness and hints that sleeping with said manager is a good way to advance a career... that's wrong, full stop. It's toxic, and in this case discourages women from staying in or entering the game industry.
 
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