Funomena co-founder Robin Hunicke accused of creating toxic workplace
Brendan Sinclair
Managing Editor
Monday 21st March 2022
A group of former and current Funomena developers have accused studio co-founder Robin Hunicke of creating a toxic workplace, according to a new report from People Make Games.
The outlet initially spoke with eight former Funomena employees who described Hunicke as emotionally abusive, with a number of them saying she was particularly known for sharing sensitive personal information about them in a work environment without their consent.
"She'd make comments about people's previous messy break-ups, people's current conflicts they're having with significant others, her opinions about people's dating lives, whether she knew they were in therapy or not in therapy," one source told the outlet.
"Sometimes it would be comments about people's personal appearance, or how feminine they are, or if they were struggling with their sexuality."
When one former employee was rehired as a contractor, it was with the explicit stipulation that they never have to interact with Hunicke or be in the same room with her.
Some of the former Funomena developers told People Make Games said they wouldn't participate in the GDC Experimental Gameplay Workshop or any other showcases or industry functions she was involved with out of fear of her talking with other people about them. Some said they were traumatized by working for Hunicke, or that certain spaces in the industry were no longer accessible to them because of her influence.
In the process of investigating the situation at Funomena, People Make Games said it was contacted by another group of the studio's employees, this one including an unspecified number of current employees as well.
This group provided a statement saying that Funomena engages in
Read more on gamesindustry.biz
