Current Events > Key members of Lab Zero Games jumping ship after Mike Z refuses to leave.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/lab-zero-founder-reneges-agreement-depart

Remember back in May when Mike Z said some stuff that people didn't like? Then he agreed to leave the company?

Well apparently he was asking for a shit-ton more than they were willing to give him for leaving.

So he dissolved the board, took sole control of the company, and is basically like "Yeah I'm not going anywhere."

EDIT for clarity: He was always the sole owner, but there was a board in place as a check on him. That board has been dissolved and now he has full control of the company, and pretty much no one can remove him.

So now multiple members of the studio are resigning, each sharing their own statements about him.

Here's one:

https://twitter.com/ClickAgain/status/1297622837541261312

Here's another:

https://twitter.com/kinucakes/status/1297985084604129280

And me having just started Indivisible. >_>

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Mike Z: "I'm gonna leave."

Later

Mike Z:


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Hows he making it an unsafe workspace... just glanced, seemed too much to read and Im not pooping atm

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Kisai posted...

Mike Z: "I'm gonna leave."

Later

Mike Z:

lol

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So what did he do exactly? I remember some cringe-worthy Twitter exchange, but I don't recall it being in the realm needing to kick him from the industry. Did other stuff come out?

"What'd he do"

*posts what he did*

"I'm not reading that."

In short, a much longer track record of a hostile working environment than any of us were led to believe.

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Afaik it was just that cringey DM.

But man, it was really REALLY cringey tho. It took me like 10 minutes to get through it cuz my cringe relief valve kept going off and I needed to expel the excess cringe from my body at multiple points >_>

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CyricZ posted...

In short, a much longer track record of a hostile working environment than any of us were led to believe.

tl;dr version? I didnt know about this >_>

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Like why do I tell you guys things.

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Damn what did he say? Isnt Mike Z the creator of Skull Girls

nemu posted...

So what did he do exactly? I remember some cringe-worthy Twitter exchange, but I don't recall it being in the realm needing to kick him from the industry. Did other stuff come out?

Apparently he's just a terrible boss that says inappropriate things and doesn't work on stuff he doesn't feel like even though he's the lead designer.

It's also worth pointing out that he was sole owner of the company even before he dissolved the board, so they were basically asking him to quit his own company. He probably shouldn't have said he would, because it was probably never going to happen.

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Isnt Mike Z the creator of Skull Girls

He isnt the creator, but I believe he was the lead programmer

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He sounds like a piece of shit

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s0nicfan posted...

It's also worth pointing out that he was sole owner of the company even before he dissolved the board

This is correct. I've edited the initial post for clarity.

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Simon_Petrikov posted...

He isnt the creator, but I believe he was the lead programmer

hey homie, speaking of fighting games, the guy who made the current smash topic blocked me after i said unshaved pits are gross, so i can't see or participate. pretty damn grimey, so if one of the other regulars could make the next one, i'd appreciate it

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One more if you want to add it.
https://twitter.com/personasama/status/1297982976156774400?s=21

side note - I didnt know that Alex Ahad was let go from the company.

Super side note - viewmaster, Ill try get the next one. I dont know how **** works, but if we @ you in the topic, are you still unable to see that post? You can DM if you want, I dont want to derail.

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Oh Alex Ahad was the creator of skull girls right?

CyricZ posted...

Like why do I tell you guys things.

I appreciate the info.

It's just that reading sucks lawl

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NeonOctopus posted...

tl;dr version? I didnt know about this >_>

From what I read, he has been making weird sexual comments to women for years. To the point of the women bring really creeped out by it.

He also made a "I can't breathe" joke right after the George Floyd incident. So once it came out that he has been harassing a streamer in PM's, they asked him to resign from the company. But he owns the company so he basically made ridiculous demands in order to leave and they didn't want to agree to his terms.

So now the employees are leaving instead.

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ImAMarvel posted...

Good, fuck Mike Z

Why is this a good thing? He's not the one who's being forced to quit.
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ImAMarvel posted...

Good, fuck Mike Z

He is just going to hire replacements and pump out another shitty western game that people will eat up since it's a shitty western game. He will be fine.

You can't force an owner to quit his own company.

You can walk away from his company and have a mass exodus.

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I mean he's the sole owner. If they were trying to force him to negotiate for peanuts then he shouldn't leave.

Depends what the "compromises" were.

Nobody who is the sole owner should be able to be "Forced Out".

As the owner, you must be a dumb ass to be "Forced Out".

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KamenRiderBlade posted...

You can't force an owner to quit his own company.

You can walk away from his company and have a mass exodus.

You can force a creator to quit his own company if they're deemed to be significantly bad for the company's operations going forward. I think the shareholders can petition the board of directors or something.

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MrMallard posted...

You can force a creator to quit his own company if they're deemed to be significantly bad for the company's operations going forward. I think the shareholders can petition the board of directors or something.

And look what happened.

He got his senses straight, and took control.

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This is a weird defense, bro.

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MrMallard posted...

You can force a creator to quit his own company if they're deemed to be significantly bad for the company's operations going forward. I think the shareholders can petition the board of directors or something.

Lab zero games isn't a publicly traded company, IIRC. There are no shareholders.

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I'd leave too. he sounds like a right POS

-Unowninator- posted...

Why is this a good thing? He's not the one who's being forced to quit.

Figure it out

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Dunno who Mike Z is, but this is why I believe one individual shouldn't have complete power over companies.

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MrMallard posted...

You can force a creator to quit his own company if they're deemed to be significantly bad for the company's operations going forward. I think the shareholders can petition the board of directors or something.

Only if they have that structure. The only other way would have been a much more iron-clad legal agreement than they had. I'd bet they didn't even have one going. Dunno why anyone would trust anyone at their word in this situation.

CyricZ posted...

This is a weird defense, bro.

It's not about "Defense"

It's about looking at the reality of the situation.

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Master_Bass posted...

but this is why I believe one individual shouldn't have complete power over companies.

If they own a company and started it from the ground up, then there's not much you can do about it.

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Goddamnit, man. I really loved Indivisible.
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I mean it's quite simple. Sure, the members of the company had no legal recourse to remove Mike Z, but him stepping down would be a show of penitence and a recognition of his own faults, and he might find a new team down the road and possibly have prosperity again.

In this situation, every fucking bit of dirty laundry is going to come out.

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CyricZ posted...

I mean it's quite simple. Sure, the members of the company had no legal recourse to remove Mike Z, but him stepping down would be a show of penitence and a recognition of his own faults, and he might find a new team down the road and possibly have prosperity again.

In this situation, every fucking bit of dirty laundry is going to come out.

Oh well, that's the way the cookie crumbles.

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NeonOctopus posted...

tl;dr version? I didnt know about this >_>

It took me two minutes of shitting to read through what one person said. Basically it's another example of somebody being incredibly shitty to a lot of people.

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Its probably a bad time to leave...

CyricZ posted...

I mean it's quite simple. Sure, the members of the company had no legal recourse to remove Mike Z, but him stepping down would be a show of penitence and a recognition of his own faults, and he might find a new team down the road and possibly have prosperity again.

In this situation, every fucking bit of dirty laundry is going to come out.

Penitance and recognition won't pay the bills. "Might" find a new team is a big bet to take when you own the company you currently work for. He also "might" get banished from the industry and spend the rest of his life as a grocery store clerk.

I get where you're coming from, and I don't disagree that'd be the ideal path forward, but I think realistically given the current climate and his name recognition he has a better shot at recovery where he is than walking away.

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AzurexNightmare posted...

Figure it out

What? If it's that he'll have nobody to work for him, I'd say he'll just hire guys who will.
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@Guide

Oof. Yeah, if skullgirls wasnt dead in the water before, it is now.
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Valve should remove the games from Steam tbh

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GiftedACIII posted...

@Guide

Oof. Yeah, if skullgirls wasnt dead in the water before, it is now.

Skullgirls can keep running regardless of how MikeZ's doing, it has a dedicated enough community. This really fucking sucks though. I didn't know the guy was terrible, I thought he was just awkward.

I still don't get the weirdos who are mad at the actual game. Like do yall even play fighting games?

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Guide posted...

Skullgirls can keep running regardless of how MikeZ's doing, it has a dedicated enough community. This really fucking sucks though. I didn't know the guy was terrible, I thought he was just awkward.

I still don't get the weirdos who are mad at the actual game. Like do yall even play fighting games?

Also Lab Zero doesn't own Skullgirls. Autumn Games does.

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Irony posted...

Valve should remove the games from Steam tbh

"he said a word! everything needs to go!"

shut the fuck up lol

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I saw it summed up as

You have two choices, either you:
Choose to step down, your name is tarnished, will be very difficult to find work in the industry ever again, oh and you get no compensation whatsoever
Or don't step down, your name is still tarnished, but you at least maintain ownership of the studio and can liquidize assets or whatever

Still funny they tried to say "give us the company and you don't get severance" and he said "lol fuck off"

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