Quantic Dream bosses successfully sue French newspaper Le Monde for libel Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Quantic Dream bosses successfully sue French newspaper Le Monde for libel But lose case against second French outlet. News by Tom Phillips Deputy Editor Updated on 21 Sep 2021 30 comments David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumière, the bosses of Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls developer Quantic Dream, have successfully sued French newspaper Le Monde for libel, after the outlet printed alleged claims by studio members of a toxic work environment. A report by Solidaires Informatique, translated by Eurogamer, states Le Monde's case had been weakened as it was unable to prove certain elements of its reporting without divulging the anonymity of its sources. Neither party has commented publicly on the judgement, and there's no word yet on any terms. Mediapart, another French outlet sued by Quantic Dream for its reporting on the allegations, was completely cleared. Separate libel cases by Quantic Dream as a company against Le Monde and Mediapart also both failed. Back in May this year, Solidaires Informatique reported on various elements of the trial itself, some of which were independently verified by GamesIndustry.biz. At one point, GI.biz reported Quantic Dream's lawyers accused a journalist of writing their article detailing workplace conditions "as revenge for [co-CEO] Guillaume de Fondaumière refusing them access to the VIP section of a Quantic Dream party". At the time, Quantic Dream explained it had sued the newspapers for "publishing articles that we felt were not printed in good faith, nor with reasonable research nor evidence, and which drew false conclusions which extensively damaged the reputation and morale of the studio". Eurogamer has today contacted Le Monde and Quantic Dream for comment. The controversy began in January 2018, when French outlets Le Monde, Mediapart and Canard PC simultaneously published a joint report which alleged inappropriate behaviour, crunch and a schoolboy culture involving sexist and racist jokes at the famous French studio. At the time, Quantic Dream was just finishing work on Detroit: Become Human, its third PlayStation console exclusive in its partnership with Sony. Cage and de Fondaumière both firmly denied the allegations, saying they were "shocked" by the "rantings" of former employees, and calling them "ridiculous, absurd and grotesque". Stepping up its response to the press reports, Quantic Dream later issued a formal statement saying the allegations were a "smear". Several months later, it launched legal proceedings. One particular area of contention was a cache of some 600 controversial photoshopped images of staff dating back to 2013, some of which were made public by the various publications. In July 2018, Quantic Dream lost a court case against a former employee who quit due to the offensive images being circulated at the studio. In 2019, Quantic Dream announced it would no longer make PlayStation console exclusives. Numerous reports over the past weekend suggested the studio's next project is a Star Wars game for Disney. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 13 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store