Sweet Baby-Linked Devs Caught Approving Taxpayer Funds for Themselves

A recent investigative report from YouTube channel Gothic Therapy, led by MasterofTheTDS and Writing Raven, uncovered an alleged “exclusive club” of French video game industry elites. These high-ranking figures are suspected of using taxpayer-funded government grants to support studios they personally own or have close ties with, to the tune of millions of dollars.

This new report adds more details to what was already known about Wings Interactive, revealing a larger scale of suspicious activities within the European gaming business.

For Transparency: I, writing as Raven Redgrave, am a reporter for That Park Place.

The Pattern Begins with Wings

Initially, doubts arose about the authenticity of Wings Interactive’s independent status when Gothic Therapy uncovered signs suggesting that it was actually a cover for Landfall Games. This contradicted their public declarations. The fund, known for championing “diverse developers,” was found to have shared personnel, office space, and financial links with the studio it claimed to be separate from. Furthermore, Gothic Therapy brought attention to ties between Wings Interactive and Sweet Baby Inc., a contentious progressive narrative consultancy. The CEO of Sweet Baby Inc., Kim Belair, was even a member of Wings’ selection committee.

Following the disclosures, Wings Interactive took steps to clean up its digital footprint, deleting their X account, removing board member profiles, and purging past game projects from their website. However, as per MasterofTheTDS, this was only the start of the tale. It marked the beginning, not the end.

“Wings may have disappeared, but the money trail didn’t,” he said.

A French Government-Backed Gaming Grant Network?

As Gothic Therapy delved deeper into the matter, the more concerning the emerging pattern appeared to be. At the crux of this issue lies France’s Centre National du Cinéma et de L’image Animée (CNC), a government entity that provides substantial funding for films, animation, and video games each year. The allocation of these government game funds is significantly swayed by the Syndicat National du Jeu Vidéo (SNJV), an industry organization made up of prominent game developers and executives.

Based on the report, the SNJV functions as a sort of gatekeeper, and numerous board members have been awarded CNC grants, either personally or through the studios they manage. Gothic Therapy uncovered over €3.8 million in public funds being directed to companies linked to SNJV board members, with many receiving these funds while still actively serving on the board that helps determine who receives government game funding directly from taxpayers’ money.

Names, Grants, and Overlapping Roles

Gothic Therapy presented a detailed list of board members and the grants their studios received.

Audrey Leprince (Wings Interactive, Game Bakers): Received 10 grants, 5 while serving on the board, including for Women in Games France and her own projects.
Marine Lemaitre Freland (Piece of Cake Studios): Received 4 grants, 3 during board tenure.
Hervé Sohm (Old Skull Games): Received 6 grants total, including 1 during his confirmed board tenure.
David Rabineau (Homo Ludens): Received 2 grants, both received after joining the board.
Benjamin Charbit (Darewise Entertainment): Received 1 grant in 2017 while on the board.
Lévan Sardjeveladze (Celsius Online): Received 2 grants, one during his long presidency of the SNJV.
Anne Devouassoux (Spiders): Received 1 confirmed grant before joining, but also a co-founder of Women in Games France, maintaining the same circle of influence. Current president of SNJV.
Gregory Carreau (Asobo Studio): Received 3 grants before his COO role, board membership timeline unclear.

Two members on the entire board were found not to have received any grants while they were in office, according to Gothic Therapy’s findings. This therapy center suggests that the frequent overlaps between board membership and grant approvals are not merely a coincidence.

He wondered aloud, ‘If those determining the recipients of funds are themselves receiving them, how can anyone on the periphery fairly contend?’

The Hidden Wings Connection

Despite Gothic Therapy not locating direct Creative Norway Contribution (CNC) payments to Wings Interactive, they uncovered that at least one studio financed by Wings, Moon Pirates, obtained €90,000 as CNC funds for their game “Don’t Forget Me.” This studio was earlier featured on Wings’ now-deleted website.

In other words, even if Wings didn’t take the grants themselves, their network did.

As a film critic, I can’t help but feel more convinced that Wings Interactive wasn’t just a humble independent outfit, but rather a strategic player in a larger scheme to mold the independent gaming scene by wielding ideological clout and devious funding strategies.

Ideology and Gatekeeping in Gaming

The report brings up Audrey Leprince’s earlier statements again, where she connected Wings’ mission with GamerGate and aimed for a more equitable and ethical gaming community. Gothic Therapy perceives this as an intentional ideological bias, suggesting that funds and assistance are provided to projects matching certain activist agendas, which might compromise merit or player engagement.

This means that some of the funding for these government-backed video games projects may be allocated towards games without traditional players or gaming companies lacking development teams.

A Broader Question: Is This Happening Elsewhere?

While this exposé focuses on France, Gothic Therapy leaves viewers with a chilling question:

“If this is happening in the French government, who’s to say it isn’t happening elsewhere?”

It’s quite evident that a similar approach using storyline-based control mechanisms and self-funding structures could potentially be adapted in various other nations, particularly in regions where the gaming industry overlaps with government subsidies for games and public organizations.

It seems that Sweet Baby Inc., which has a presence in numerous international studios, might have a broader impact on funding circles than initially thought, as its beliefs, power, and financial resources could intersect more extensively than one might assume.

A System Funding Itself?

Gothic Therapy contends that there’s a systemic issue of conflict of interest, rather than directly accusing anyone of fraud. If board members are permitted to endorse grants for their own businesses or those closely tied to them, the industry can develop into an unyielding loop, excluding independent perspectives and prioritizing insiders with connections.

The investigation they conducted brings up significant questions regarding the fairness of game funding distribution by the government, who is granted the opportunity to develop games, and if initiatives promoting diversity are authentic or merely a superficial public relations effort concealing more extensive power manipulation.

In the course of Gothic Therapy’s ongoing research, they are inviting individuals with specialized knowledge to share their insights. Given the significant amount of public funds at stake, it seems this narrative still has many chapters left to unfold.

2025-03-26 20:57