Jes Negrón and Retcon Games will release first game in August
On Tuesday, Launcher reported that Jes Negrón – a former Riot Games employee who led a class action gender discrimination lawsuit against the company in 2018 – and her studio Retcon Games are releasing their first game Good Bones on August 31.
The 2018 lawsuit came after Kotaku published an expose about the culture of sexism and gender discrimination at Riot Games. Another former employee, Melanie McCracken, filed the suit alongside Negrón, where they alleged gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct at the League of Legends and Valorant developer.
According to Negrón in the interview with Launcher, things were tough employment-wise after the class action lawsuit was settled for $100 million ($80 million to the members of the suit and $20 million to the plaintiffs’ legal fees). This settlement was reached after the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing intervened to stop the initial $10 million settlement Riot had proposed.
“[Starting my own studio] was just me being sick of everything in the industry, and not being able to find my way back in fully after the whole lawsuit thing,” Negrón said. “It’s been really tough to get positions. I had a job last year, and I was like, ‘Alright, this is my last shot. And if this doesn’t work out, I’m just going to go it on my own.’ Because after the whole Riot situation and the lawsuit, and this years-long fight, my tolerance for the BS at work is just zero.”
This last job didn’t work out, so Negrón did what she said she would and started Retcon Games.
“I just went for it,” Negrón said. “I figured I have the time, and I’m in a unique place in my life where I can go for it, and not be super worried about where I’m going to get my next meal. It’s been freeing and exciting to own the whole vision, the process, to do things in a way that I know works for me.”
Retcon Games’ debut title is called Good Bones. The game is a supernatural point-and-click puzzle adventure that follows Avi and her daughter Bianca as they move into a new house after the death of Avi’s wife. While adjusting to their new home, they realize it’s haunted by the ghost of a young woman who can’t remember why she’s there. Players will get to take on this mystery on August 31.
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