Star Wars Eclipse Trends Due to Abuse Allegations Against Its Developer

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Star Wars Eclipse Draws Backlash Due to Abuse Allegations Against Its Developer

By Emily Zogbi

Published Dec 17, 2021

#BlackOutStarWarsEclipse trends on social media as fans boycott Star Wars Eclipse over abuse allegations made against game developer Quantic Dream.

#BlackoutStarWarsEclipse began trending on social mediaÂ due toÂ abuse allegationsÂ against Quantic Dream, the French game developer partnering with Lucasfilm onÂ Star Wars Eclipse.Â Star Wars Eclipse was recently announced during the 2021 Game Award. While fans were initially excited, the feeling fell away when it was revealed that Quantic Dream would serve as the game's developer.Â As a result, #BlackoutStarWarsEclipse began trending on Twitter as a fan-led campaign to boycott theÂ Star Wars game as long as Quantic Dream was involved in its development.

Founded by David Cage and Guillaume de FondaumiÃ¨re in 1997, Quantic Dream is responsible for games like Fahrenheit, Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls and Detroit: Become Human. However, in 2018,Â three reports from separate French news outlets issued allegationsÂ against Quantic Dream, stating that the studio fostered a hostile work environment with harmful business practicesÂ and various labor law violations. The allegations also claimed that both Cage, the studio head,Â and FondaumiÃ¨re, an executive producer, encouraged a toxic workplace culture of racism, sexism and homophobia.

While both Cage andÂ FondaumiÃ¨re have since won a libel case againstÂ one of the publications, Le Monde, this was not the case for another media outlet, Mediapart, which was cleared of all libel charges against it.

Star Wars Eclipse, announced during this year's Game Awards with a cinematic trailer, will take place during the High Republic era, set nearly 200 years before the Star Wars prequel films. The game is currently in its early stages of development. With these allegations in mind, fansÂ are concerned that a studio like Quantic Dream is not only not the right fit for a franchise like The High Republic, whichÂ featuresÂ LGBTQ+Â charactersÂ and BIPOC as main characters in its stories, but is also an insult toÂ The High Republic's diverse range of storytellers and fans alike.

At this time, Quantic Dream remains the developer for Star Wars Eclipse. Neither Quantic Dream nor Lucasfilm have made a statement.

Source: Twitter