Kindly Beast
Formerly | Joey Drew Studios Inc. |
|---|---|
| Private | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded 📆 | 2015 |
| Founder 👔 |
|
| Headquarters 🏙️ | Ottawa |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Products 📟 | Bendy and the Ink Machine |
| Members | |
Number of employees | <50 |
| 🌐 Website | https://kindlybeast.com |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
| {{#set:Twitter= }} | |
Kindly Beast is a Canadian video game company based in Ottawa, Ontario. It was founded in 2015 by Mike Mood and Paul Crawford in 2015 with the release of their game MeatlyMakes..[1] In 2017 they released Bendy and the Ink Machine to notable success. In 2019 they acquired Karman Interactive,[2] which developed Bendy in Nightmare Run.
Games[edit]
- MeatlyMakes (2015)
- Bendy and the Ink Machine (2017)
- Bendy in Nightmare Run (2018)
- Showdown Bandit (2019)
- Bendy and the Dark Revival (TBD)
Controversy[edit]
Kindly Beast acquired Karman Interactive in February 2019, and began a massive hiring spree bringing the number of employees from 12 to over 60 by October of the same year.[3] On October 11 2019, Kindly Beast laid off 49 people within a 4 week period without notice; just short of the minimum number of people required by Ontario Provincial Law[4] to provide advance notice of mass layoffs. News of the layoffs was first reported on Reddit,[5] and was later confirmed by Mike Mood.[3] In weeks prior to the layoffs former employees were reassured that their jobs were safe. Multiple Glassdoor reviews have former employees citing poor management, ignorance of best practices, and unclear company policies.
On December 16 2019 Mike Mood held an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on reddit to talk about upcoming projects and the layoffs.[6] Notably, this AMA was not performed on r/IAmA, but on a new subreddit. Mike Mood explained that he did not know how reddit worked.
- Regarding the layoffs: Mike Mood explained that it was due to a cash crunch he was not aware of until 2 days after he reassured employees that their jobs were safe. The alternative was bankruptcy. Mike Mood also confirmed that they were hiring up until this moment with a number of people having traveled across the country. Mike Mood has blamed an unnamed CFO for not bringing up the cash crunch, but has also stated that he approved all spending.
- Regarding the toxic work environment: Mike Mood does not believe that Kindly Beast had a toxic work environment. No steps have been taken by the board or management, and no steps are planned to be taken to rectify the situation. It was also revealed that the only HR manager was Mike Mood's sister.
After the AMA, Mike Mood confirmed that he was anti-union[7]
References[edit]
- ↑ "About Us". Kindly Beast. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
- ↑ "Ottawa studio behind viral hit 'Bendy' acquires local firm Karman Interactive | Ottawa Business Journal". obj.ca. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Bendy and the Ink Machine studio Kindly Beast lays off just under 50". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
- ↑ "Bendy developer Kindly Beast axes majority of staff". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
- ↑ "r/Games - The Kindly Beast Studio (Maker of Bendy and the Ink Machine) seem to have fired a majority of It's studio after rapidly growing over a year". reddit. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
- ↑ "I'm Mike Mood, CEO of Kindly Beast, Ask me anything". reddit. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
- ↑ Mood, Mike [@KindlyMikeMood] (2019-12-18). "anti union here. // i proved great salaries, the best benefits, work from home, flexible hours, unlimited sick leave, 6.5 weeks vacation, coffee, food, list goes on. // a union wouldn't have saved jobs, if anything it would have taken most of those perks away" (Tweet). Retrieved 2020-01-05 – via Twitter.
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