Harrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin's Creed Shadows and The Last of Us Remake
An in-depth investigation into the working conditions at Brandoville Studios (an Indonesian studio which has provided animation support to games like Assassin's Creed Shadows and The Last Of Us: Part I Remake) has been conducted by People Make Games, and alleges a shocking culture of abuse.
Before we proceed, it should be noted that the contents of the report involve extensive physical and psychological abuse and the death of a child, as well as recordings of coerced self-harm. I will also be describing some of these elements below.
Brandoville Studios, which closed on August 17, 2024, was headed up by Cherry Lai and Ken Lai—the studio's commissioner and CEO, respectively. People Make Games' report cites several employees, both named and anonymous, and shares both video footage and text threads sent and verified by the channel's reporter, Chris Bratt, that paint a disturbing picture of sustained misuse of power by Cherry Lai.
The bulk of evidence provided comes from Christa Sydney, who alleges that she suffered years of abuse during her time at the company. Sydney states that, after joining Brandoville in 2019, she was reprimanded for raising «her voice to the company's CEO, Ken Lai, during a disagreement over how some business cards had been printed.»
The report claims that, despite being expected to be fired, Cherry Lai intervened, saying that «God had talked to her», after which Sydney was taken under her wing and given «two weeks to prove herself.»
What ensues in the video is a textbook description of abuse—coroborrated by Sydney and her coworkers, some of which choose to remain anonymous in their statements. This was, in part, enabled by the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw Sydney and other coworkers moving into Brandoville Studio's building to live there permanently. As the report explains, the studio itself had a set of «dorm rooms», with Ken and Cherry Lai living in a bedroom three floors above.
The allegations include controlling behaviour, physical attacks,
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