Screenshots of a post on Glassdoor criticizing Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment appeared on Reddit Yesterday. The anonymous poster described a negative work-from-home environment that severely impacted her mental and physical health.
“I feel extremely stressed and exhausted trying to keep our seasonal releases on the same aggressive timeline as pre-shelter productivity in place,” wrote the anonymous Glassdoor reviewer in April. “I currently work 12-13 hours a day and there is no separation between my home and my working life.”
Crunch is a highly maligned phenomenon in the gaming industry during which developers spend an unhealthy amount of hours working to get a project done within a deadline set by management. With the start of the pandemic, many video game companies were forced to to delay he releases of games to accommodate employees in less than optimal work situations. The reviewer claims that Respawn has not made similar adaptations.
“Most other game companies (Epic, Activision, Bungie, etc.) have extended the project timelines and feature / content roadmaps to accommodate lower efficiencies and overall stresses / anxiety during COVID 19, but not on the Apex project, “they wrote.
The reviewer further explained that Respawn “has no idea how to do a live service project, which means poor planning decisions and no job sizing [meaning] Actually, we have very little idea of how much we can achieve in a given month, ”contributing to their sense of struggle to get everything that needs to be done.
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The Reddit thread garnered over 700 comments, mostly in support of the poster. The thread also attracted several Respawn employees who provided explanations of the company’s work policies and expectations from home.
“Respawn and EA implement many benefits to ensure that employees are being served” wrote Chad Grenier Apex Legends‘game director in Respawn. “Unlimited paid time off if you were not feeling well (physically or mentally) or were caring for someone, reimbursement for any purchase to make working from home easier or more comfortable, additionally pay each paycheck to cover increased bills for energy or internet, flexible working hours, the list goes on. “
He explained that he understood the difficulty of maintaining a game like Appendix running and his players happy in the middle of a pandemic. He also stated that he did his best to communicate to his team that it is okay if they are lagging behind, even advocating for the delayed launch of the next competitive season.
“I was very vocal to the team about their deadlines,” wrote Grenier. “Like a broken record, I continually asked people to speak to their managers or producers if they couldn’t get their work done on time without contracting it. Delays would be fine, we just need to know that one is needed. Remember that weird 2-week delay when Season 4 was supposed to end, and then magically added an additional 2 weeks to the end of the season with no weekly challenges? Yes, that was because I delayed season 5 for two weeks. “
Other Respawn employees expressed sympathy for the cartel, but also supported the company’s overall handling of the unique situation.
“I have to say it was really sad to read this post” wrote user moyparra, whose Reddit badge identified them as an artist in Respawn. “I hope [whoever] This developer seeks help shortly before making a really difficult decision. Of course, my opinion will seem biased, but for what it’s worth, I can honestly say that I personally feel very supported by my teammates and leaders. Respawn is not a perfect place, but damn, they put the well-being of their developers as a really high priority. “
Comments in response to developers pointed out that even if a manager expresses that it’s okay for an employee to fall behind or miss a deadline due to mental stress or other pandemic complications, no one wants to be the person responsible for such deficits.
The anonymous thread poster affirmed that sentiment, stating: “We received two conflicting messages around ‘please take care of your health’ and ‘we must maintain the same schedule and work even longer hours to meet our deadlines.'”
The identity of the cartel is unknown, but according to some of the Respawn employees in the comments, they suspect that this person no longer works at the company, suggesting that the cartel followed up with the closing statement of its Glassdoor review, which He said: “I am so exhausted that I am considering leaving without a next job to go mentally so I can be in a better place.”
Notably, that comment is the only openly negative review on the company’s Glassdoor page, and all of the other 23 reviews show scores of 3.0 or better.
Kotaku Respawn Entertainment has been contacted for comment.
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