Dying Light 2 devs allege management failures and toxic culture at Techland
CEO responds at length - and defends his terrible art taste
A new report into development practices at Techland contains quotes from staff who allege that mismanagement, indecision, and the use of homophobic slurs has marred ongoing work on Dying Light 2. CEO Pawel Marchewka responded to the allegations at length - but defended hanging a photo of a naked woman next to a cheetah in his office.
Here is Marchewka's comment on the photo, from the report on The Gamer:
"The photo in question is by a famous English artist and conservationist David Yarrow, who I appreciate for his artistry, passion, and dedication to work, and I had never considered that it might offend anyone,” Marchewka explains. “I find him one of the best if not the best wildlife photographer. That's why I hung it in my office. But I want to make sure I set the right example so if any of our employees, anonymously, report that they feel uncomfortable with it I will remove it immediately."
Videogames are art, sure, but are naked women standing next to cheetahs art? I would say: yes, bad art. Here is the (not safe for work) photo for you to judge yourself. I am pretty sure this is what Dick Jones from RoboCop would have hanging on his wall.
The rest of the report, which is based on conversations with ten current and former Techland staff speaking under the condition of anonymity, paints a picture of a company in disarray. This includes the use of homophobic slurs when giving feedback on work, high staff turnover, decisions being made and then reversed weeks later, and a management team that allegedly refuses to listen to the staff they hire. Some sources also said that it was difficult to complain about managerial behaviour because the head of HR, Aleksandra Marchewka, is the CEO's wife.
Many of these allegations mirror reports from Polish website PolskiGamedev.pl last year, which said that development was a "mess."
Last year, Techland cut ties with writer Chris Avellone, who had been working on the script and world for Dying Light 2, amid sexual assault allegations.