This story includes content some readers may find disturbing.
Former employees of Brandoville Studios–an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows before closing its doors in August–recently stated that they were subjected to mental and physical abuse while working on the game. Now, Ubisoft has responded to their claims.
“We are deeply disturbed by the recent reports surrounding Brandoville Studios,” an Ubisoft spokesperson told Eurogamer when asked to comment on the controversy. “We strongly condemn all forms of abuse, and our thoughts are with the affected employees.”
The claims of abuse were first reported by People Make Games in a 50-minute YouTube video uploaded earlier this week. In the video, former Brandoville employee Christa Sydney alleges that she was subjected to various forms of abuse by Kwan Cherry Lai. Cherry Lai is the wife of Brandoville CEO Ken Lai and was responsible for overseeing Brandoville’s daily operations while the studio was still open.
According to Sydney, Cherry Lai created a toxic work environment, using gossip to alienate employees and manipulating employees’ schedules to an extreme degree. But the alleged misconduct didn’t stop there–Sydney says Cherry Lai forced her to stay awake for days at a time, only allowing her a few minutes of sleep over the four days leading up to the 2022 External Development Summit conference. Sydney also alleges that Cherry Lai forced her to engage in Christian religious practices, made her write lines as a punishment, and even demanded Sydney send over photos of her daily work outfits for approval before coming into the office.
“5:30 AM we need to wake up and then like, pray to god, and then [at] like 6:00 AM we need to go do our exercise, and then 8:00 AM shower,” Sydney said of Cherry Lai’s desire to control employees’ schedules. “9:00 AM be at the office, and then even like, what time we need to drink water–she also put it in the schedule. And then what time we eat, what time we go to bed… that sort of thing.”
But according to Sydney, that was just the tip of the iceberg, and Cherry Lai’s behavior would eventually escalate to physical abuse. Sydney says she was forced to film a video in which she slapped herself in the face 100 times as a form of punishment, and also claims she was directed to slam her head into a doorframe repeatedly before being forced to apologize for “mistakes.”
“The earliest record that I have was a recording of me hitting myself in the mouth until it bled, and then she wanted me to take a picture of the blood in my mouth,” Sydney shared in the People Make Games video, which includes chat logs, photos, and recorded footage backing up her claims.
Sydney previously spoke out about her experiences in a 2021 interview with People Make Games, and says Lai forced her to film an apology video retracting her claims.
Other former Brandoville employees have come forward with reports of abuse as well. Caesarion Balthazar, who also worked at Brandoville while the studio was still in operation, claims that Cherry Lai took large chunks of his paychecks, adding up to the equivalent of a month’s salary. When he tried to leave the studio, he was told he owed Lai money for a series of training programs. There was a problem, however: He hadn’t engaged in any of the training programs he was being charged for. Syifana Afiati, who worked at Brandoville from 2019 to 2024, claims she was overworked during her pregnancy, and refused time off when her child died shortly after birth.
After the studio was liquidated in 2024, Cherry and Ken Lai formed a new company: LaiLai Studios. Sydney was hired on there as well, but later left after another incident with Cherry pushed her over the edge.
“She was taunting me. She was challenging me, basically,” Syndey said. “I thought to myself, ‘She already doesn’t have anyone else [to work for her].’ I was quite literally the only person left with her, and she was still doing this to me. But this time around I was like, ‘You know what? I’m so tired, it’s like 2:00 AM. I should order a cab home. When she realized that I wasn’t going back to her, she panicked.”
Sydney claims Cherry threatened her, but after years of abuse Sydney was at her limit. She refused to return to her position and began sharing her story, providing videos, photos, and text messages to back up her claims, which led to her story getting picked up by various news outlets and social media sites in Indonesia.
Although Ubisoft has denounced Cherry Lai’s alleged actions, Lai herself gave a bizarre response when contacted for comment by People Make Games.
“To me, my part of the story is not important as long as my team are good and safe now,” Cherry Lai said of the accusations. She refused to provide further comment.
Employees interviewed by People Make Games say that although CEO Ken Lai was not directly abusive toward them, he enabled his wife’s conduct. At the time of writing, Ken Lai has not made any statements regarding the alleged abuse his wife engaged in. Brandoville Studios employees also worked on Age Of Empires IV during the timeframe the abuse allegedly took place, but Microsoft has not yet commented on the People Make Games video, nor has it addressed the allegations of abuse by Cherry Lai.
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