Rocksteady Allegedly Fails To Take Action Against Staff Harassment

Rocksteady Studios, best known for the Batman: Arkham series, has been accused of inaction over alleged incidents of sexual harassment and inappropriate workplace behavior.

These accusations come from a letter written two years ago, signed by 10 of the 16 female members of staff at the company. The contents of the letter were shared with The Guardian today by one of the signatories, who claims that incidents of groping have persisted since they wrote to management.

As seen by The Guardian, the letter is said to outline incidents of “slurs regarding the transgender community” and “unwanted advances, leering at parts of a woman’s body, and inappropriate comments in the office.” Since the letter was sent off, the company is said to have held a one-hour seminar. Multiple signatories have now left the company, the anonymous source claims.

“Everyone who attended [the seminar] was asked to sign a statement confirming that they’d received the training. It felt that it was a just way for them to cover their arses”, shared an anonymous female employee, who also claims that feedback on the sexualized look of characters Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy in the Batman: Arkham series was not listened to.

In response to the article, Rocksteady stated to the newspaper:

“In 2018 we received a letter from some of our female employees expressing concerns they had at that time, and we immediately took firm measures to address the matters that were raised. Over the subsequent two years we have carefully listened to and learned from our employees, working to ensure every person on the team feels supported. In 2020 we are more passionate than ever to continue to develop our inclusive culture, and we are determined to stand up for all of our staff.”

Rocksteady is currently working on Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which they are scheduled to reveal more information about at DC Fandome on August 22. It is unknown whether this panel will be affected by these allegations coming to light.

These allegations follow similar accusations levied at Ubisoft last month, in which 40 former and current employees spoke out against alleged incidents of sexual harassment and racism in the office. The situation at Ubisoft appears to be ongoing, with studio executives continuing to leave the company in response as recently as this month.

Rocksteady Studios have been contacted in regards to the allegations, and are yet to respond.

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