A Reflection on the Past Months

Hello Community,

It is an honor to work with a number of great people who made meaningful contributions to Evil Genius Games. I consider the former staff members who have expressed their concerns among them.

We went through some particularly difficult challenges last year—one, of course, was the case against Netflix. As with any startup, there were times when I wasn’t sure we were going to make it.

Tough decisions were made to reduce staff in order to both buy the company time and ensure we could continue to execute on behalf of our customers, investors, and team members.  

Unfortunately, reducing staff is never a popular action, and I understand how difficult it was for everyone involved. It led to hard feelings amongst some of the people who were let go, and it impacted the people who stayed.

I was very saddened to see the accusations of former staff, some of whose contracts we ended and some who ended their contracts with us. As a leader, it is important to listen, to learn, and to be a good example. And, to this end, I welcome constructive feedback regarding both myself and culture of the company. I also reached out to former employees for feedback and no one offered it. But I will be here when they are ready.

Despite where things stand today, I wish them the best. 

The accusations of ethical transgressions are troubling. I take ethics very seriously, and I care deeply about my reputation and that of the company. I’ve shared our company’s code of ethics publicly and we will stand by it.

I am grateful for those Evil Genius Games team members who continue to believe in the company and me. Their hard work, personal opinion nor ethics should ever be questioned. Like me, they are hurt, stressed, and frustrated by these accusations. We, too, are trying to heal from all this. And, as one important means of healing, I plan to actively promote and demonstrate open, safe, and ongoing communication between myself and my team members, and to both encourage and support similar kinds of communication between my team members, particularly in matters of ethical concerns. My aim is to create the kind of work environment in which the kinds of complaints that have been lodged against both myself and my company will never again occur.   

In the meantime, we’re excited to continue making great products that people love. I’m proud of the strong ratings that we’ve had on nearly all the products that we’ve released. I’m grateful for the thousands of people who continue to play our games every day. And I’m committed to delivering a valuable and rewarding experience for all our stakeholders, our employees, our customers, and our investors. 

I also want to thank all of the people within the industry that have offered an outpouring of support and love to both me and my company. Your well-wishes have given us strength and, in the months and years ahead, I am committed to demonstrating to all of you that your faith in us is not misplaced.