Sweet Baby-Connected Devs Appear to Approve Taxpayer Funded Grants for Themselves in Government Game Funding Expose

A new bombshell investigation by YouTube channel Gothic Therapy, hosted by MasterofTheTDS and Writing Raven, has revealed what they describe as a “closed circle” of game development elites in France funneling millions in taxpayer-fueled government game funding to studios they themselves operate or are closely affiliated with.

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This latest exposé builds on the channel’s previous reports into Wings Interactive, the indie game fund tied to Landfall Games and Sweet Baby Inc. (SBI), but it dramatically widens the scope of alleged influence and self-dealing within the European gaming industry.

Full Disclosure: Writing Raven is a contributing reporter for That Park Place under the name Raven Redgrave.

The Pattern Begins with Wings

The first cracks in the narrative appeared when Gothic Therapy exposed Wings Interactive as what appeared to be a front for Landfall Games, despite public claims of independence. The fund, which promoted itself as a champion of “diverse developers,” shared staff, office space, and funding ties with the very studio it was supposedly separate from. Gothic Therapy also highlighted connections to Sweet Baby Inc., a controversial progressive narrative consulting firm whose CEO, Kim Belair, sat on Wings’ selection board.

The diversity page from Wings Interactive – YouTube, GothicTherapy

The revelations led to Wings Interactive scrubbing its online presence, deleting its X account, removing board member listings, and erasing past game projects from its website. But according to MasterofTheTDS, that wasn’t the end of the story. It was just the beginning.

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

A French Government-Backed Gaming Grant Network?

The deeper Gothic Therapy dug, the more troubling the pattern became. At the heart of the issue is France’s Centre National du Cinéma et de L’image Animée (CNC), a government agency that funds film, animation, and video games with millions of euros annually. Decisions about how this government game funding is distributed are heavily influenced by the Syndicat National du Jeu Vidéo (SNJV), an industry board composed of top game developers and executives.

About Us Page for the CNC – YouTube, Gothic Therapy

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According to the report, the SNJV operates as a kind of gatekeeper, and many of its board members have received CNC grants either directly or through the studios they oversee. Gothic Therapy tracked more than €3.8 million in public funds flowing to companies connected to SNJV board members, many while they were actively serving on the board that helps decide who gets government game funding straight from the tax payers.

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.

Only two of the entire board were confirmed to have not received grants during their tenure. Gothic Therapy concludes that the frequency of overlap between board membership and grant approval is no coincidence.

Audrey Leprince, the co-founder of Wings Interactive

“If the people deciding who gets the money are also the ones getting it, how is anyone on the outside supposed to compete?” he asked. 

The Hidden Wings Connection

Although Gothic Therapy could not find direct CNC payments to Wings Interactive, they discovered that at least one Wings-funded studio, The Moon Pirates, received €90,000 in CNC money for their game Don’t Forget Me. The studio had previously been listed on Wings’ now-erased website.

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

A page showing Petter Henriksson, Vice CEO of Wings and Co-Founder of Landfall Games – YouTube, Gothic Therapy

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This adds further weight to the growing suspicion that Wings Interactive was not an indie charity, but part of a broader effort to reshape the indie game landscape through ideological influence and self-serving funding mechanisms.

Ideology and Gatekeeping in Gaming

The report also revisits earlier comments from Audrey Leprince, who tied Wings’ mission to GamerGate and expressed a goal of building a more “socially fair and just” gaming community. Gothic Therapy interprets this as a deliberate ideological slant, claiming that grants and support are selectively offered to projects that align with specific activist frameworks, potentially at the cost of merit or player interest.

This would explain why some of this government game funding is going to, in the hosts’ words, “games with no players, companies with no 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?”

Wings confirms that Sweet Baby Inc. CEO Kim Belair is on its selection board – YouTube, Gothic Therapy

The implication is clear: the same model of narrative-driven gatekeeping and internal funding networks could easily be replicated in other countries, especially where the industry intersects with government game funding and public institutions.

With Sweet Baby Inc. already operating across international studios and appearing repeatedly in these funding spheres, the overlap between ideology, influence, and funding may be far wider than previously imagined.

A System Funding Itself?

Gothic Therapy stops short of accusing anyone of outright fraud, but they argue the conflict of interest is systemic. If board members are allowed to approve grants to their own companies or those of close collaborators, the industry becomes a self-reinforcing echo chamber, locking out independent voices and favoring connected insiders.

Sweet Baby Inc. CEO Kim Belair via InclusionFX YouTube

Their investigation raises serious concerns about how government game funding is allocated, who gets to create games, and whether diversity-driven missions are genuine or just PR veneers for deeper control.

As Gothic Therapy continues their investigations, they call on viewers with insider knowledge to speak up. With millions of taxpayer dollars in question, this story appears to be far from over.

Are you surprised at this government game funding controversy? Sound off in the comments and let us know!

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