A French union group is calling for another strike against Quantic Dream as negotiations over roughly 115 layoffs drag on at the Star Wars Eclipse developer. The cuts were precipitated by the MOBA flop Spellcasters Chronicles, which was rushed out onto Steam early this year as owner NetEase retreats from AAA gaming. The union is now accusing the studio best known for Detroit: Beyond Human of being stingy in its compensation for laid-off developers.
“It is worth noting that Quantic Dream is a subsidiary of NetEase, a group which is doing really fine, and as such is able to offer more than decent layoff packages to the victims of its management,” French union section STJV wrote in a new blog post on August 4. “But their constant quest for more stinginess leads to an absurd situation, in which the executives’ offer would be less than what our comrades won at Don’t Nod, a company with way less financial support. It is disgusting to end up in this situation. If Quantic Dream wants to destroy jobs, it must pay.”
Don’t Nod is also reportedly facing financial troubles following the release of the divisive sci-fi adventure Aphelion earlier this year. The studio’s main backer, Tencent, has also reportedly pulled out from continuing to offer the studio funding, leaving it in a precarious situation heading into the rest of 2026. But STJV claims that recently laid-off workers at Don’t Nod still got a better deal than what those at Quantic Dream are being offered, despite the fact that the latter is still backstopped by NetEase.
Both Chinese conglomerates have been pulling back from their recent major investments in AAA gaming, leading to canceled projects and closed studios. But STJV has reserved most of its ire for the leaders of Quantic Dream, CEO Guillaume de Fondaumière and chief creative director David Cage. “To finish up with how workers’ fears are taken into consideration: while executives are trying to prevent worker representatives from communicating with workers about the ongoing negotiations, they do not hesitate to spread lies among the company,” the union claims.
It continues, “Over the past months, they never admitted to any of their failures, even the most obvious ones. On the contrary, David ‘Cage’ de Gruttola congratulated himself about how lucky the soon-to-be laid off workers were to work on the game, as if working around him was a great privilege. Is this how one respects those who create the value exploited by the company?”
Despite claims that these cuts would delay Star Wars Eclipse, Quantic Dream has maintained that everything remains on track for the game that was first revealed nearly five years ago. “As previously stated, the development of Star Wars Eclipse remains unaffected by the recent closure of Spellcasters Chronicles, a decision driven by the challenging market conditions in that segment,” a Quantic Dream spokesperson told IGN in June. “The development of Star Wars Eclipse is continuing as planned, with the full commitment of its team and all the necessary resources to complete its mission.”