They criticize the head of The Callisto Protocol studio for praising the crunch

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The crunch or labor exploitation has always existed in the video game industry, which is unfortunate, as it has very negative effects on developers. Unfortunately, today we know of one more study that practices it and the worst thing is that it was the head of the same one who made it known after extolling this practice.

It is common in the video game industry for the practice of crunch to be revealed by employees who are not happy with this practice and who communicate it to reporters or the media. However, with the developer of The Callisto ProtocolStriking Distance Studios, was different, as it was Glen Schofield, its CEO and creator of dead spacewhich revealed that crunch is practiced inside the studio.

“I only talk about the game during an event. We are working 6-7 days a week, no one is forcing us. Exhaustion, tired, Covid, but we are still working. Bugs, glitches, performance fixes. One last audio broadcast. 12 to 15 hours a day. This is gaming. I work hard. I eat lunch and dinner at work. You do it because you love it,” Schofield wrote.

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They bashed Schofield and Striking Distance Studios for their comment on the crunch

In recent years, the video game industry has been increasingly aware of crunch to the point of implementing measures to reduce or completely eradicate it. The fan community also knows about this and punishes him, which is why the criticism of Schofield and Striking Distance Studios was immediate after the publication of the message in question.

Clearly, Schofield wanted to highlight the passion his team was pouring into The Callisto Protocolbut but for many it was incorrect, since they consider that Schofield seemed to confuse what passion and dedication mean with exploitation, a bad work environment and everything that crunch encompasses, since it profits from the passion of developers to extend their hours of work.

This now deleted tweet from the head of Striking Distance Studios, the team behind Callisto Protocol is the textbook definition of crunch culture. This illusion that no one is being forced to work 12-15 hour days because they love it so much. Weaponing employee passion ??‍♂️ https://t.co/rTo8K2bigE pic.twitter.com/Aakrq0BGSk

— Joël ?? (@WeAreJoel) September 3, 2022

Others criticized Schiofield because, although he mentioned that no one is forcing them to do this, this may well apply only to him and his team may have a different opinion. However, being the general director of the study, the other members would have to replicate his practices.

Given the contentiousness of the post, Schofield promptly removed it, but received criticism for apparently ignoring the outrageous situation it caused.

In case you missed it: Team ASOBI ensures that you will work on your biggest project free of crunch.

This, from a studio head, is crunch culture defined. Of course nobody is “forced” to work insane hours. But imagine the reduced bonuses and lack of promotion opportunities if you don’t? “You do it because you love it.” Weaponized passion. This is why people burn out of gaming pic.twitter.com/seyE7tkPuf

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) September 3, 2022

CEO of Striking Distance Studios, developers behind the upcoming The Callisto Protocol, is being called out for claiming the studio is working 6-7 days a week to get the game ready for launch ?

*Deleted the tweet pic.twitter.com/vmjnVMNXox

— ?HazzadorGamin,Dragon of Dojima? (@HazzadorGamin) September 3, 2022

Schofield apologized for his message and clarified his position.

However, hours later the same day Schofield spoke about it to acknowledge that the way he incorrectly expressed how proud he was of his studio’s dedication.

“Anyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about the people I work with. I tweeted earlier today how proud I was of the effort and hours the team was putting in. [en el desarrollo de The Callisto Protocol]. She was wrong. We value passion and creativity, not long hours. I feel sorry for the team for expressing myself like that.”

Anyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about the people I work with. Earlier I tweeted how proud I was of the effort and hours the team was putting in. That was wrong. We value passion and creativity, not long hours. I’m sorry to the team for coming across like this.

— Glen A. Schofield (@GlenSchofield) September 3, 2022

Despite Schofield’s apologies, the truth is that crunch is common not only in the video game industry, but in the workplace in general. However, it is something very frowned upon publicly and so criticized, as you can see in this case, that some studies deny it and many strive to eradicate this practice. The problem was made worse because Schofield seemed to extol the crunch invested in the game.

The foregoing does not mean that we condone labor exploitation, but unfortunately it is something deeply rooted in the industry that is often necessary to meet the deadlines imposed by the studio itself or its distributor in relation to the release date and thus avoid delays. .

In some cases the crunch pays off, in others perhaps not so much, but in the end the decision to carry it out depends on several factors that also involve the developer himself and the image he projects within the studio towards his colleagues.

What do you think of the new scandal around the crunch? Tell us in the comments.

The Callisto Protocol is in development for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S and PC and will debut on December 1. You can find more news related to him if you visit this page.

Related video: CD Projekt RED and the crunch controversy: a necessary evil?

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