On December 14, 2025, former Critical Reflex community manager Evelina Zemljic uploaded a video to YouTube accusing two individuals of mistreating her during her time at the company: CEO Rita Lebedeva and her former co-worker Ted Hentschke, now a CEO and co-founder of Polish horror publisher Black Lantern Collective.
Her video sent shockwaves through the fast-growing world of indie horror as other developers and game industry professionals came forward with similar allegations. These claims went beyond Critical Reflex (known for publishing horror hits like Mouthwashing), with some accusing Hentschke of sexually harassing them during his time as head of production at Dread X Collection publisher Dread XP.
It’s been eight months. None of these companies ever released public statements. It’s left developers and accusers wondering—did Hentschke or Lebedeva face any accountability for their alleged behavior?
Seeking to answer that question, Game Developer spoke with several individuals who made allegations against Hentschke and Lebedeva, who all described a series chaotic work environments where porous boundaries between personal and professional conduct bred circumstances favorable to abuse.
Hentschke and Critical Reflex also took time to answer our questions, while a spokesperson for Dread XP declined to comment for this piece. Both Hentschke and a Critical Reflex representative denied the bulk of the allegations—but also say each of their companies have made major changes following the public complaints.
The allegations
The accusations against Lebedeva and Hentschke run parallel to each other. Zemljic and another anonymous developer we spoke with (who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation) said Lebedeva had a habit of disparaging colleagues behind their backs, asking personal questions about their mental health and relationships, and gossiping about information provided confidentially by their colleagues.
Zemljic also described instances where Lebedeva sent her inappropriate messages and seemed to fixate on her life as a streamer outside of the workplace.
While this all took place, Critical Reflex apparently failed to pay some employees or deliver employment contracts in a timely manner. A Critical Reflex representative acknowledged the claims about delayed contracts but denied any systemic problems with paying employees on time.
“Critical Reflex and Rita Lebedeva categorically deny the allegation that she harassed Evelina Zemljic,” a company representative told Game Developer. They say Lebedeva acknowledges that she “did not always shut down gossip or disparaging comments” brought to her as soon as she should have.
Per a spokesperson, Lebedeva now sets “clear boundaries” around these conversations and “accepts responsibility for not doing so earlier,” suggesting that the growth follows her taking the role of CEO of Critical Reflex at a relatively young age and coming to a “better understanding of her own neurodivergence.”
Image via Wrong Organ/Critical Reflex
Meanwhile, Hentschke faced the brunt of allegations of sexual harassment and a lack of respect for his colleagues’ boundaries. These came from Zemljic, the anonymous developer, and former Dread XP colleagues Cleveland Mosher and Star (who does not use her last name professionally).
Zemljic documented several inappropriate messages that Hentschke sent to her via Discord and Telegram while working together at Critical Reflex. When she complained about Hentschke’s alleged harassment to her supervisor, no action was apparently taken.
“I disagree with the allegations as she states them,” Hentschke said in reference to Zemljic’s portrayal of their conversations. “But I do not wish to try to call her a liar.”
He confirmed the validity of the messages, but said additional context from their conversations shows he was not sexually harassing her.
These comments included vivid descriptions of a former girlfriend and asking Zemljic if she could introduce him to any of her friends who “like to sleep around.” Zemljic explained to Game Developer that these conversations made her “uncomfortable and disappointed” even as she tried to deter his behavior in a friendly manner.
Star and Mosher described similar behavior during Hentschke’s time at Dread XP. Both independently alleged he would send inappropriate messages or share graphic pornography in the workplace. Moser recalled asking Hentschke to stop, but said nothing changed.
Hentschke denied these claims, saying that any pornographic content shown in the workplace would have come from games being reviewed for potential publishing.
Two developers who pitched their games to Critical Reflex told Game Developer Hentschke made sexist or sexually harassing comments to them: lily’s world XD developer Emily Pitcher and darkwebSTREAMER co-creator Chantal Ryan.
Ryan told Game Developer that after pitching darkwebSTREAMER to Hentschke at Critical Reflex, he stayed in contact via Discord, and the two struck up casual conversation that sometimes covered topics that might be inappropriate in the workplace.
This itself was not a problem for Ryan, as she stressed she’s often comfortable discussing taboo topics. But he allegedly crossed a line after making comments that left her “feeling sexualized and objectified beyond the context of the conversation at hand.”
Hentschke told Game Developer he recalled speaking to Ryan but denied sexually harassing her. Given that Critical Reflex did not officially accept or reject her game for publishing, it left Ryan wondering what Hentschke’s intentions were when he first accepted the pitch meeting.
Meanwhile Pitcher said Hentschke dismissed the 12,000 wishlists she’d accrued for her in-development game when pitching to Hentschke and some of his colleagues.
“He replied something along the lines of ‘oh those are good numbers, but they aren’t representative of the interest in [the] game because I’m a woman and people may only be wishlisting to make themselves feel good about supporting a women developer,'” she said.
Hentschke confirmed that this conversation took place, but said he had not intended any sexism. By his account, he made this observation because lily’s world XD had accrued a number of these wishlists after appearing in showcases promoting female developers.
“The comment that I made is a comment that I’ve made many times before,” he said, alluding to conversations about marketing to what he called “special interest groups.” He said this phrase doesn’t just refer to groups based on gender, sexual orientation, or race, but also niche subreddits and other gathering spots for online communities.
“You can get a high volume of interactivity and wish lists, but they don’t necessarily always convert. Because what you get is a large amount of people who are like ‘this product looks cool, I’m supportive of it.’ What you’re generally looking for when you’re trying to sell games is to reach… a broader group.'”
Marketing experts who conferred with Game Developer said they have not observed any data supporting Hentschke’s “special interest group” correlation, though one noted that wishlists accrued during showcases of all types are less likely to convert to sales.
The policy changes
Since December, Black Lantern Collective and Critical Reflex have taken steps to improve their workplace culture and improve accountability, though the leaders of both companies continue to deny any harassment of former colleagues.
At Black Lantern Collective—where Hentschke shares decision-making power with a board of directors—the company set up an official whistleblowing form that new employees are shown upon their hiring, and which remains pinned at the top of their Discord server where they communicate in the workplace. Complaints submitted via the form are reviewed by the company’s chief operating officer before being brought to the other board members.
“The form is anonymous,” Hentschke said. “It was really clear that it was necessary to have a system in place so people could know they were safe, that their voices could be heard, that there was a process to seek protection in case anything happened.”
Hentschke also faced questions about Zemljic’s allegations from his co-workers as well as his current and prospective business partners. “We had a big meeting about it,” he said. “I brought it to my staff before anyone else.” He said he has gathered evidence for people to review so they can “make their own decisions” about the allegations.
Image via Alexandre Declos, Pas Game Studio, and Black Lantern Collective
He did say in the time since, he’s learned a lot about “the nature of how people treat someone that they perceive as their boss,” a topic he said no one instructed him about when he became head of production at Dread XP.
“It’s difficult because you have an online workplace… how do you separate that workplace environment when it’s online from the casual environment that’s online? Everyone knows when you’re in the office versus when you go to the bar. But what happens when your office is Discord and the bar is a different Discord channel?”
Meanwhile Critical Reflex’s spokesperson told Game Developer that “in recent times,” the company has introduced “additional safeguards and strengthened our internal people processes.”
This has included establishing a dedicated human resources director role, centralizing work-related communication “within formal company-managed platforms,” providing employees with access to an Employee Assistance Program,” and expanding reporting pathways for whistleblowing employees.
They added that the company has “undergone substantial organizational change over the past two years,” and that management is focused on “ensuring these improvements are properly embedded, effective, and able to evolve as Critical Reflex continues to grow.”
What happens next?
Whatever changes have taken place at Black Lantern Collective and Critical Reflex one fact is clear: the accusers won’t be around to benefit from them. We wanted to know what their experience has been since speaking up.
Zemlijic, Star, and our anonymous source all described a mixture of relief and frustration when they heard others share their stories about Lebedev and Hentschke. “It felt really meaningful to connect with people in that way,” said Zemlijic.
“Other women also started sharing their experiences so it felt like we weren’t alone and that speaking up would result in some kind of action being taken,” added the anonymous developer. They said they sometimes felt guilty for quitting Critical Reflex, wondering if they “simply weren’t tough enough” to withstand the alleged harassment. “Hearing the experience of others made me feel like I wasn’t alone and it wasn’t my fault.”
Star told Game Developer that she received apologies and messages of support from former Dread XP colleagues and business partners. One such partner apologized for cutting off contact after hearing from Hentschke that she “hated him.”
Zemlijic said she hopes for more transparency and better HR practices at these companies, and for both Hentschke and Lebedev to offer public statements acknowledging the accusations and explaining how they’d improve.
It was the anonymous developer who best expressed how the ripple effects of these events go beyond Dread XP, Critical Reflex, and Black Lantern Collective. “People keep saying things like ‘indies will save the industry,'” she observed. “But if no one protects indie developers or calls out bad behavior happening at the indie level, who is going to save the indies?”