Larian Studios, the developer of Baldur’s Gate 3, is facing serious allegations, including sexual harassment, tolerating extremist views, and exploitative hiring practices. These claims, mainly shared on Blue Sky, have raised concerns about the studio’s internal culture.
A former developer, known as Hash Bandicoot, accused Larian leadership of ignoring openly fascist behavior among employees. They described an engineer who became radicalized during COVID, returning to work with far-right views and influencing others. Despite multiple reports to studio head Swen Vincke, he allegedly prioritized the engineer’s contributions over team values, allowing a hostile environment to persist for marginalized staff.
Hash Bandicoot also detailed a personal incident involving alleged sexual assault by colleague Felix Pedulla, claiming the studio did not take such reports seriously due to a pattern of protecting important staff.
Additional criticism has focused on Larian’s hiring practices. Writer Zoe Quinn condemned their unpaid, demanding writing tests and noted the studio’s contradictory stance on generative AI and remote work. Fellow narrative designer Bruno Dias highlighted the excessive demands of the hiring process, which many believe wastes significant amounts of prospective employees’ time. Writer Cat Manning echoed these sentiments, noting that fear of backlash prevented many from speaking out.
