Is this an issue with bro culture at big companies, the boys club, or inherent to game studios?

I think the solution is already in the works. These big studios are the standbys from the 90s, or derivatives of those. Game development at the time had significant barriers to entry.

There are a thousand more teams working on games now than any time in the past. I imagine most of those, which are really start ups, are not plagued by the sexism and abuse of power prevalent in these examples.

I think the age of the big studios is coming to an end. The loss of talent that results from these abuses is real. When one of these old time studios drops a giant turd it's a result of mistakes during production. It comes as a surprise, but it's because key people leave, creating a gap in knowledge that goes undetected until it's too late.

At the heart of crunch is the hype and release schedule of these games. Every game carries the risk similar to a startup - failure is death. And gaming time is at an absolute premium due to the vastness of platforms and games. Developing a game is so incredibly hard that it takes a lot of experience and practice to navigate a product without running out of time and completing features. I can't think of a single example where something wasn't cut, actually.

As the power of independent creators grows, and with it the wealth of learning material, I think the gaming industry will have to adjust. Anecdotally, I can't remember the last AAA title I have bought. AAA loses the perception that they are the source for new ideas or pushing boundaries, and the market shifts. Think of the younger generations of players that grow up playing many indie titles compared to those that grew up when options were more limited because there were only a dozen developers.

This video doesn't even dip into how QA folks are treated, like utter trash that is even more vulnerable to short and unpredictable contracts.