Open Roads growth continued onward after Fullbright co-founder Steve Gaynor stepped down because the game’s inventive course following complaints of “mistreatment” from staff. Now, Open Roads is transferring ahead with out the Fullbright title; the event workforce is now merely referred to as “The Open Roads Team.”
Gaynor introduced his complete departure from Open Roads growth in a publication printed Friday. “But after a great deal of consideration, it’s just no longer Fullbright’s place to represent Open Roads publicly going forward,” Gaynor wrote. “It will be credited to ‘The Open Roads Team’ at launch.”
Open Roads was initially introduced in 2020 as a big-name indie printed by Annapurna Interactive and starring Keri Russell (The Americans) and Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart). Problems in growth —and Gaynor’s management fashion — started early on, with 15 staff having left the company since 2019, the bulk of whom have been ladies. In our report from August 2021, a number of staff mentioned he created a “toxic” and “unhealthy” atmosphere for the workforce.
Gaynor was eliminated from energetic growth in March 2021 on account of a “pattern of women leaving” the company, a Fullbright consultant informed Polygon. “Steve stepped down in March 2021 after it became clear that the steps that were already being taken to improve his interactions with the team were only yielding temporary results,” the consultant mentioned on the time. “More drastic action was needed for the health of the team.”
News of the departure went public months later in August alongside Polygon’s report on the studio’s issues with Gaynor. Six staff remained at the moment to proceed growth on Open Roads; it’s unclear what number of are engaged on Open Roads now as The Open Roads Team.
Gaynor had not commented publicly on Open Roads or his actions for the reason that 2021 story; the publication printed Friday is the primary open discover since then. He’s now engaged on a game independently, as a solo developer, saying that his “own strengths do not lie with attempting to manage a large project or direct the work of others.”
Polygon has reached out to The Open Roads Team, Annapurna Interactive, and Gaynor for remark. The Open Roads Steam web page lists the game as “coming soon,” however a precise date isn’t listed. A Game Informer interview with present Open Roads builders from 2021 instructed that the game shifted from one thing “really plot focused” to “something much more character-focused,” a better have a look at the connection between mom and daughter — a relationship that’s not been explored a lot in video games.
