
Of the staff Kotaku talked to, some have stuck around at Undead Labs, with one saying “ could be such a cool game and we’ve got a lot of great people working on it, and I just hope we don’t repeat the terrible habits of the last few years. Microsoft later told Kotaku that participation in the E3 showcase was in fact optional.

This trailer featured a zombie deer, which came as a surprise to some staff as they didn’t even know if zombie fauna was to be a feature. Pre-order now to get the Amazon exclusive Survivor’s Pack Includes the Zed Swatter melee weapon, an exclusive vehicle and an assortment of survival supplies and abilities - Codes will be received within 7 days of release. Other parts of the report talk about State Of Decay 3’s E3 2020 reveal, claiming that Microsoft requested a trailer to show at the event. Schlosser then denied this in a phone call with Kotaku, saying her departure was instead part of some studio reorganisation. The report added that while what happened next wasn’t entirely clear, Microsoft’s own human resources got involved, and Schlosser quietly left at the end of one work week. “It got to the point where nearly every week, someone would sob on a video call with me, because I was the only one who would listen to them,” said one current developer.Īccording to three employees, an August 2021 meeting revealed to multiple staff members at Undead Labs they all felt the same way about the current cultural state of the studio. There’s also mention of former head of people and culture Anne Schlosser, who staff said would sometimes ignore concerns and complaints and even side with “bad actors” at the studio. One male employee apparently said “You don’t look as pretty as normal today,” and “I’m surprised a girl like you has this job.” What it was in actuality was studio leadership painting a DEI face for Microsoft, while women were consistently ignored, dismissed, interrupted, talked over, and blamed,” said a former developer.Īnother former developer said that men would ask them to take notes during meetings, ignore their knowledge and make sexist comments. “When I interviewed at the Lab, I was sold a studio in transition that was making a top priority.

We needed to protect the jobs, benefits, and work culture we’d built up over the past eight years, and so we were receptive to acquisition discussions with Microsoft,” Strain added.Īs outlined in the report, staff at Undead Labs also highlight how the studio was home to discrimination against female, non-binary and other marginalised groups employed there.

“When you own an independent studio you are personally responsible for it-if you fail a milestone and don’t get paid, you have to cover the payroll personally-and SoD3 was going to be way beyond anything we could personally back financially.
