The Bizarre Reason These Game Executives Cried In Court

Back in 2018, "Heavy Rain" and "Detroit: Become Human" developer Quantic Dream was rocked by an expose published by French news outlet LeMonde, which called the developer out for its toxic workplace (via Eurogamer). The grievances in the report were many, revealing studio founder David Cage for the difficult person he can be. Quantic Dream responded by suing LeMonde, kicking off a lengthy legal battle between Quantic Dream and LeMonde, which has now entered a strange new chapter. 

During the recent court proceedings, onlookers were shocked to see how co-CEOs David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumière behaved when they took the stand. 

Independent French news outlet Solidaires Informatique (via Kotaku) reported that the Quantic Dream CEOs behaved strangely in court, even getting emotional about the accusations aimed against them. David Cage apparently threw a temper tantrum, stomping his feet and crying on the stand. According to the report, Cage raised his voice throughout the proceedings, then eventually left the courtroom in a huff, claiming that the accusations would ruin his reputation.

At one point, de Fondaumière turned to ask the judges an important question during his testimony. The CEO quietly asked, "But I'm not under oath, so can I lie?" de Fondaumière then proceeded to claim that the accusations damaged Quantic Dream, but he apparently could not provide proof of said damages.

According to Kotaku's report, Quantic Dream did provided a variety of other documents to the court, intending to show that it did not commit social security fraud and has always acted above-board when terminating employees. Unfortunately for Quantic Dream, the reports actually revealed that at least one employee might have been unlawfully terminated.

While Quantic Dream's own documents may have made the case even more complicated, it was Cage and de Fondaumière's behavior that raised suspicions from fans and court judges alike. While there's certainly no shame in showing emotion, de Fondaumière's question asking if he could lie on the stand seems, well, suspicious at best.

For the last few years, Quantic Dream has made some vague promises about the "exciting news" on the way. It's currently unclear how much this legal battle has held up those developments. Fans will have to wait a bit to find out how the case ends. Solidaires Informatique indicated that a verdict should be reached in early July. Hopefully both CEOs can make it through the sentencing without too much fuss.