Ori games developer Moon Studios founders accused of toxic workplace behavior

Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel Will of the Wisps are magical games with a number of admirers. Their success led to developer Moon Studios partnering with the likes of Private Division for new IP. But for all its critical and commercial success, Moon still seems to have some serious problems behind the scenes.

A new report from GamesBeat details the toxic workplace conditions that many Moon developers were subjected to. Studio founders Thomas Mahler and Gennadiy Korol have been accused of some rather unpleasant behavior, including bullying, casual racism, sexism, and other uses of harmful language — GamesBeat’s report includes a screenshot of Mahler using a slur against those with intellectual disabilities in a Discord chat.

Despite this treatment, developers under Mahler and Korol are proud of what Moon has accomplished with the Ori games. “Maybe my suffering was worth it because other people felt something,” one developer lamented. “In the end, I mean, so many of us were burned out.” Neither of those are statements that a happy, well-treated employee should be making.

The allegations have been made, and Mahler and Korol responded to them before GamesBeat’s report was posted. Their response is far less than adequate, saying they don’t believe that “[GamesBeat’s] questions are representative of the more than 80 Moon Studios team members who are thriving and doing great work every day.” The response goes on to tout the critical and financial success of the Ori games rather than give the allegations any serious consideration.

It sounds like a sad state of affairs at Moon Studios, and the founders’ response to the accusations is very disappointing. GamesBeat’s report contains many more examples of incidents that need to be addressed and remedied.