Justin Roiland’s Squanch Games was sued for sexual harassment back in 2019, that’s according to a report from Kotaku.
Only last week, it was revealed that Rick and Morty co-creator and co-founder of Squanch Games, Justin Roiland was charged with domestic violence as well as false imprisonment for charges made in 2020.
Squanch Games has been drenched in controversy
Just days after Roiland was charged by a California judge, it has been discovered that the studio he co-founded (Squanch Games), was sued in 2019 by a former employee following allegations of sexual harassment.
Kotaku reports that former designer at Squanch Games, Sarah Doukakos was “repeatedly” harassed by technical director and supervisor, Jeff Dixon. Doukakos also claimed that multiple formal complaints were made, but were ignored by management.
A lawsuit states that complaints were made to the CEO of the time and co-founder of Squanch Games, Tanya Watson. It is said that Watson ignored and downplayed the complaints. Doukakos claimed that Jeff Dixon not only repeatedly hugged her without consent but also mocked and belittled her.
Employees were apparently aware of the treatment and allegations
It is claimed that other employees of the studio were aware of the treatment of Doukakos. One employee reportedly spoke out in defence of Doukakos but was told: “that’s just how this generation of guys are” and was encouraged to just deal with it.
Months after Doukakos made complaints to management, she was reportedly fired by Squanch Games. The studio cited her performance as a reason for dismissal, despite apparently receiving positive reviews from the company.
Squanch Games settled out-of-court in 2019
Following her dismissal, it is claimed that Doukakos’s final paycheck was withheld until a liability release was signed. An out-of-court settlement was finally agreed upon in September 2019. Both Jeff Dixon and Tanya Watson are no longer employed by Squanch Games.
Squanch Games’ most recent title, High on Life became the biggest launch on Xbox Game Pass in 2022. What’s more, it is also currently “the biggest release of a single-player-only game in the service’s history“.
It remains to be seen how the Squanch Games respond to the controversy.
Featured Image Credit: Squanch Games/Source: PC Gamer via Kotaku