Mitch Dyer, currently a screenwriter at Electronic Arts, narrates the pressure situation that his bosses subjected him when he worked in the press
Among the waves of allegations of misconduct being seen these days, one has been particularly eye-catching for affecting two former IGN officials, one of the world’s leading gaming and entertainment publishers. It all started when Kallie Plagge, editor-in-chief of Reviews at Gamespot and ex-editor of IGN decided to explain on Twitter her situation in the previous job and how two of her superiors, Steve Butts and one of the co-founders of the media, Tal Blevins, They pressured and vexed her to the point that she could not even break for lunch at work, in addition to recounting various episodes of humiliating treatment at work.
I wasn’t going to say anything because I’m afraid but fuck it. It took me years to recover from the abuse I endured at IGN. I’ve posted about just one incident but working under Steve Butts and Tal Blevins was an unparalleled experience in being bullied and belittled.
– Kallie Plagge (@inkydojikko) June 23, 2020
An unsubstantiated story
So far, one more episode in the long list of accusations and stories that have been kept private for years coming to light recently. But Kallie’s testimony triggered a chain reaction, with several past and present members of the IGN newsroom supporting the journalist’s words and telling their own horror stories under the names mentioned. In particular, he highlighted the testimony of Mitch Dyer, well-known face of the medium and currently scriptwriter in Electronic Arts, who related his own experience with his superiors, also telling a very specific chapter that especially affected Naughty Dog, in particular Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley.
They forced an unproven claim onto https://t.co/bXvrM2OKzN with my name on it, against my will, to “protect their relationship with Sony.”
When Sony justifiably condemned our story, Steve and Tal were SILENT. They never went to bat for me for a second.
– Mitch Dyer (@MitchyD) June 23, 2020
Basically, when Amy Hennig left Naughty Dog, IGN, under the signature of Mitch himself reported that “according to internal sources”, the departure had not been friendly and had been forced by Straley and Druckmann. Hennig, screenwriter and co-creator of Uncharted or Soul Reaver is a beloved and respected figure in the video game industry, so as a result of that information – multiplied by all the media that echoed it – they created a negative image and toxic around the studio directors, which they never got rid of. They were caricatured as manipulative and power-hungry, responsible for imposing a specific vision that would be harshly criticized by a certain sector of fans.
Thanks Mitch. I appreciate you saying this. Sounds like you were in a tough situation. Sorry. TBH, I learned from this too. That most “news” on internal company politics is about 20% true & 1000% more nuanced than what twitter (or fans) can handle. So we all grew. Be well.🕊️ https://t.co/d9B7pjwocN
– Bruce Straley (@bruce_straley) June 23, 2020
Now, Mitch confesses that those “internal sources” never existed for him. Steve and Tal “heard it” and forced under threat to insert that part into the story, without contrasting and without allowing him to access the source directly to work on the story; you had to put it and that’s it. The editor refused first and asked that his name not appear in the piece later, but both things were denied and the news came out like this. When Sony publicly came out to deny that information and to ask for explanations for the story, neither of the two responsible gave the face, leaving the journalist alone and with nothing to defend his piece. Some time later, they published another story titled “The Last Guardian has been canceled” that also made a huge noise worldwide and for which the news team asked for explanations that were not received (on the contrary, they were reprimanded for not to have given that news themselves, which in the end would be false).
Wow, dude. Not gonna lie … I was angry for a long time about this. I appreciate you putting the truth out there. Please know I don’t hold a grudge and wish you the best. Sorry for what you went through. https://t.co/NEX1qv5akK
– Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) June 23, 2020
The current screenwriter has publicly apologized to both Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann and these have been accepted by both, also sharing the frustration they felt at the time. Bruce talks about what he learned in his flesh what the reports of internal movements of the reported studies were like (“20% of truth”) and Neil acknowledged that he was angry for this for a long time and thanked Mitch for telling the truth of what what happened.
The defendants, who left IGN a while ago and now do consulting work, have their Twitter accounts closed and have not yet responded to these allegations. Hennig has not specifically spoken about the reasons why he left Naughty Dog, but he has once commented on his tiredness compared to what it means to get an AAA production today, which may give some clue. Current IGN editors have confirmed that the internal situation has greatly improved and these episodes no longer occur, while both Mitch and Kallie have strived to highlight the professionalism of the American magazine’s staff.
