Three prominent men in the video game industry were accused of sexual assault in one day this week, re-igniting a broader debate about #MeToo and the industry
the men who do the most damage also have career-ruining levels of industry clout. but also: creeps, better pack your bags. your day is coming. Lucy O'Brien / @luceobrien : The stories I've heard from women in/around the video game industry over the years are utterly horrifying. Hold these men accountable. Believe their victims. This shit needs to stop. P-O Desbiens / @pioldes : lot of abusers in the game industry huh hold them all accountable I believe you all this should be coming out, I know way too many women who stopped working in studios because of abusive devs @gamblignant8 : there are too many predators in games. Alec Holowka (music/programming, night in the woods) and Jeremy Soule (music, the elder scrolls) are just the latest examples of an industry that lets bad actors coast on reputation and hurt vulnerable creatives for years and years. Rex / @rexy : The game industry is totally fucked. It was all built upon the outdated idea that “nerds are victims” and women are less than. No one is free from mistakes, but we need to make this industry better. Support the women outing the monsters. No one should be too “legendary” to out. Ashly Burch / @ashly_burch : The women that have shared your stories about abuse in the games industry today: I hear you, I believe you, and I'm so sorry. Please, please take care of yourselves. Anita Sarkeesian / @anitasarkeesian : This is a time when all the men who claim to be allies get to show their real values. If you work with or are in communities with predatory men speak up, speak to management, voice your concerns, demand consequences for predatory behavior. Alanah Pearce / @charalanahzard : A few women have spoken about abuse in the games industry today and I really want to stress: making your abuse public is terrifying and vitriolic. You know how awful it'll be long before you speak up. Please don't be a part of the reason most women silently tolerate mistreatment. Mina Vanir / @minasmorghoul : Today a lot of brave women gave me strength. It's been two years now. Last week I learned that I was not the last. I hope what I'm going to do now will help. I am not here to ruin your life. I am here to keep you from ruining the lives of others. His name is Vlad Micu. https://twitter.com/... Anita Sarkeesian / @anitasarkeesian : Their bravery is going to give courage to other women and non-binary folks to speak up and you can rest assured that this is a massive problem affecting and caused by the developers who make the games you love. So let me remind you: Believe women Lauren Kaori Gurley / @laurenkgurley : Three prominent video game developers were accused of sexual assault in 24 hours, & now the industry is having a #MeToo moment. I wrote about it here: https://www.vice.com/... Time's Up / @timesupnow : For all those in the video game industry who have experienced sexual misconduct in the workplace — including assault, harassment, abuse & related retaliation — @TIMESUPLDF is here to help & may be able to connect you to an attorney. Learn more: https://nwlc.org/... #TIMESUP Adelaide / @ohadelaide : He made me feel crazy, pushing me away then guilt tripping me when I would try to move on. Wouldn't let me back in his flat if I had left while he was at work on my visits, which would have left me stranded in freezing weather for hours. Accused me of STDs and lying. Mina Vanir / @minasmorghoul : I was going to make it public anyway, but after I was told I should keep quiet because I could be marked as a potential risk by HR people, I couldn't wait any longer. Please read it. Please share it. Please talk about it. https://www.facebook.com/... pic.twitter.com/Tb165jpM5B @notsoseriouss : I have no idea what he's doing now. As far as I can tell...he's working on the same game he was telling me about back then. Go figure. In any case, Marc Ten Bosh can go fuck himself. I have never felt so inhuman and objectified and I nearly left because of it. @notsoseriouss : The abusers & predators who prey on young, naive, new, and eager folks in the industry, who are the most vulnerable of all, are the worst offenders IMO. They're all terrible, but it takes a special kind of awful to actively seek out people who should be uplifted, and target them. Anita Sarkeesian / @anitasarkeesian : Video Games are having a #metoo moment. The toxicity from fans has been well documented for years but the toxic, abusive, predatory behavior between developers has mostly been spoken in whispers between trusted friends. I'm in awe of the bravery of those who have spoken up today. Zoë &LDQUObi Fieri” Quinn / @unburntwitch : Also sorry to everyone who I've avoided bc they seemed to know or be friends with him. I didn't think less of you I just knew he wanted to shit on me whenever possible from what had circled back to me like the blacklisting and stuff and was worried you'd hate me before meeting me @waxpancake : Thank you to each of you for telling your stories, and everyone vocally supporting them for their bravery and inspiring others. Every abused person needs to know they can speak out and we'll have their backs, and every abuser needs to face consequences for their actions.
VICELauren Kaori Gurley
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the 2019 flashpoint of #MeToo reaching the games industry: accusations against named developers including Alec Holowka, Jeremy Soule, Vlad Micu, and Marc Ten Bosch surfaced within days, amplified by figures like Zoë Quinn and Anita Sarkeesian and organized under banners like #TIMESUP Adelaide. The through-line from earlier coverage is workplace conditions — a Girls Who Code study of 1,000 young women had just documented how hostile male-dominated workplaces deter women before they even land internships.
First-order effects
The accused — Holowka, Soule, Micu, Ten Bosch — face immediate professional consequences, with their employers and collaborators forced to decide whether to cut ties or absorb the reputational damage.
Women currently working in or adjacent to studios gain a rare window where public testimony carries weight, shifting the cost calculus for speaking out versus staying silent.
Second-order effects
Studios and publishers come under pressure to show their HR and conduct processes work, because each new wave of public accusations signals that internal channels failed the victims who went public instead.
The pattern migrates across adjacent gaming sectors: a year later, over 70 people had shared harassment and assault stories from the live-streaming side of the industry, showing the reckoning was not confined to development studios.
Third-order effects
Accountability pressure moves up the corporate stack — by late 2021, even sub-1% shareholders were using governance channels to demand resignations at Activision Blizzard over its misconduct scandal (calling for CEO Bobby Kotick to go), suggesting public allegations increasingly translate into board-level consequences.
If the cycle repeats, the industry's talent pipeline narrows further: the same dynamics documented among young women entering tech workplaces compound as experienced women exit studios, entrenching the male dominance that enabled the abuse in the first place.
The trend: Public accusation waves are becoming a recurring enforcement mechanism in the games industry, with each successive wave — studios in 2019, streaming in 2020, publisher boards by 2021 — pushing accountability further up the power structure.
I've been silent about this for almost my entire career and i can't do it anymore. Sorry if this is rambling and messy, I'm scared shitless to out an industry legend like this but I can't live with the secret anymore 1/2 pic.twitter.com/DpbhtuaoEP
Since we're on the topic of Alec Holowka and other game devs who are sexual assaulters, Luc Shelton of Splash Damage assaulted me and gaslit me and at least one other woman two years ago and plenty (former) mutuals told me to stay quiet about it but I won't ever shut up anymore.
i wrote a post that you should read calling out my r*pist & naming names http://www.nathalielawhead.com/ ... please read it if you believe me please share it, please rt it, put it on full blast i don't want any woman to ever get hurt by him again [TW: sexual assault, game indust…
I was sexually harassed at an oculus holiday party in front of about 10 other employees, several of whom instantly came forward to corroborate the story when I reported it to HR. the guy still works there. Oculus's “zero tolerance” policy is a real soft zero, as it turns out http…
Let's quickly recap rebuttals to some frequently-asserted falsehoods about allegations of misconduct: - Just because someone treated you well doesn't mean they treat everyone well. - Just because someone has female friends/allies/fans doesn't mean they treat every woman well
There will also be many people reading this who won't feel able to share their stories - about Alexis, or about other abusers in the industry. Publicly or otherwise. To those people: I see you, I support you. Together we are more powerful than they can possibly imagine. Be safe.
I have felt enormous shame for not seeing AK's abuses towards others sooner. I felt humiliated for percieving an older man's interest as professional when - in hindsight - it wasn't. How embarrassingly naive! But the shame and humiliation belong to him, not to me. #TimesUp
Alexis Kennedy has used his reputation and association with prominent women + minorities - including me - as a cover for his predations and abuses. The only way I can protect people from further harm is to state this publicly and explicitly.
I deny this. I have had a small number of fully consensual relationships with other people in the industry. Everything else here is a malicious misrepresentation. I have taken legal advice and I am making a police complaint about what seems to be a campaign of harassment.
An anon account has been naming abusers in the games industry. Alexis Kennedy is one of them. I can't speak to the motives of the anon, but Alexis is a well-known predator in the games industry. I have been warning people about him for years.
Jesus Christ the messages im getting rn from other people he's hurt. I had no idea it was so bad. Im so sorry I waited this long to come forward but now whatever happens to me I don't think I'll regret it
We need to make sure that anyone with a story of abuse about any industry legend feels safe sharing their story. This is an absolute requirement for a fairer, more accessible, more accountable, and more welcoming industry (and society). https://twitter.com/...
It's true. I remember talking to Zoe at the time (2011? 2012? It's been a while), and she'd tell me she was locked in Alec's bathroom for hours, afraid for her safety. https://twitter.com/...
As some abusers in the game industry are bravely being called out today, remember there are hundreds who will NOT be called out. They thrive on a systemic culture of abuse-enabling and toxicity that we must dismantle. Men, we need you to be TRUE allies. We need you to step up.
Game devs, please be sure to pay close attention to today's news. It's really, really important that you keep yourself informed and don't just tune out this discussion regarding sexual assault aligations in our industry. Don't just sweep it under the rug and forget the victims.
there are still like 3 known massive game industry creeps who didn't get outed yesterday and i totally understand why—the men who do the most damage also have career-ruining levels of industry clout. but also: creeps, better pack your bags. your day is coming.
The stories I've heard from women in/around the video game industry over the years are utterly horrifying. Hold these men accountable. Believe their victims. This shit needs to stop.
lot of abusers in the game industry huh hold them all accountable I believe you all this should be coming out, I know way too many women who stopped working in studios because of abusive devs
there are too many predators in games. Alec Holowka (music/programming, night in the woods) and Jeremy Soule (music, the elder scrolls) are just the latest examples of an industry that lets bad actors coast on reputation and hurt vulnerable creatives for years and years.
The game industry is totally fucked. It was all built upon the outdated idea that “nerds are victims” and women are less than. No one is free from mistakes, but we need to make this industry better. Support the women outing the monsters. No one should be too “legendary” to out.
The women that have shared your stories about abuse in the games industry today: I hear you, I believe you, and I'm so sorry. Please, please take care of yourselves.
This is a time when all the men who claim to be allies get to show their real values. If you work with or are in communities with predatory men speak up, speak to management, voice your concerns, demand consequences for predatory behavior.
A few women have spoken about abuse in the games industry today and I really want to stress: making your abuse public is terrifying and vitriolic. You know how awful it'll be long before you speak up. Please don't be a part of the reason most women silently tolerate mistreatment.
Today a lot of brave women gave me strength. It's been two years now. Last week I learned that I was not the last. I hope what I'm going to do now will help. I am not here to ruin your life. I am here to keep you from ruining the lives of others. His name is Vlad Micu. https://tw…
Their bravery is going to give courage to other women and non-binary folks to speak up and you can rest assured that this is a massive problem affecting and caused by the developers who make the games you love. So let me remind you: Believe women
Three prominent video game developers were accused of sexual assault in 24 hours, & now the industry is having a #MeToo moment. I wrote about it here: https://www.vice.com/...
For all those in the video game industry who have experienced sexual misconduct in the workplace — including assault, harassment, abuse & related retaliation — @TIMESUPLDF is here to help & may be able to connect you to an attorney. Learn more: https://nwlc.org/... #TIMESUP
He made me feel crazy, pushing me away then guilt tripping me when I would try to move on. Wouldn't let me back in his flat if I had left while he was at work on my visits, which would have left me stranded in freezing weather for hours. Accused me of STDs and lying.
I was going to make it public anyway, but after I was told I should keep quiet because I could be marked as a potential risk by HR people, I couldn't wait any longer. Please read it. Please share it. Please talk about it. https://www.facebook.com/... pic.twitter.com/Tb165jpM5B
I have no idea what he's doing now. As far as I can tell...he's working on the same game he was telling me about back then. Go figure. In any case, Marc Ten Bosh can go fuck himself. I have never felt so inhuman and objectified and I nearly left because of it.
The abusers & predators who prey on young, naive, new, and eager folks in the industry, who are the most vulnerable of all, are the worst offenders IMO. They're all terrible, but it takes a special kind of awful to actively seek out people who should be uplifted, and target them.
Video Games are having a #metoo moment. The toxicity from fans has been well documented for years but the toxic, abusive, predatory behavior between developers has mostly been spoken in whispers between trusted friends. I'm in awe of the bravery of those who have spoken up today…
Also sorry to everyone who I've avoided bc they seemed to know or be friends with him. I didn't think less of you I just knew he wanted to shit on me whenever possible from what had circled back to me like the blacklisting and stuff and was worried you'd hate me before meeting me
Thank you to each of you for telling your stories, and everyone vocally supporting them for their bravery and inspiring others. Every abused person needs to know they can speak out and we'll have their backs, and every abuser needs to face consequences for their actions.