An extensive report has been made stating that there has been significant mental and physical abuse at the Indonesian support studio Brandoville, which was providing assistance to the development of Assassin’s Creed Shadows before the studio closed in August last year. Ubisoft has since responded to this report. The detailed report was released by People Makes Games and focused on Christa Sydney, who worked at the company from 2019 to 2014, and states that she experienced mental and physical abuse by Kwan Cherry Lai, wife of Brandoville CEO Ken Lai.
The report is horrifying and tells a horrifying tale of Lai micromanaging Sydney, where she was only allowed to sleep for a few minutes over the course of four days, as well as the result of Sydney getting a concussion due to Lai’s abuse. All of this information was released in the report on the People Makes Games YouTube channel, where you can watch the full report.
Ubisoft has responded to this horrifying report with a simple statement, although it’s unsure whether Ubisoft has reached out to the impacted employees. They go on to say, “We are deeply disturbed by the recent reports surrounding Brandoville Studios. We strongly condemn all forms of abuse, and our thoughts are with the affected employees.”
This isn’t the first time that Brandoville Studios has come under fire on the People Make Games channel. In 2021, they appeared in a report on crunch culture and the industry’s reliance on outsourcing. The report then spoke about the horrifying conditions at the company, and it seems that nothing changed over that period of time. With Brandoville’s closure taking place a couple of months ago, it has now given employees the opportunity to share their experiences while working at the studio.
Brandoville Studios helped provide art and animation support for a number of games, including Assassin’s Creed Studios and Age of Empires 4. The reports in the video begin in 2019 and carry on all the way up until the studio’s closure in 2024. Lai didn’t just abuse Christa Sydney, and unfortunately, multiple employees were tormented under her. This led to financial abuse and overworking of a pregnant employee.
If you are considering watching the report, please be warned that there is incredibly harrowing footage and triggering topics that are spoken about in detail.
Ubisoft’s upcoming title Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set to release on February 14.
