Here, the resources available are not the same as in large offices. Communication is significantly more limited. Not without reason have several features already been postponed.
A developer from CoD Modern Warfare and Warzone also explained in May that working from home brings advantages. One now better understands the needs of online gamers and knows what they actually want. But the drawbacks are naturally also present.
A job review about Respawn, the developer of Apex Legends, reveals the current tense situation in the home office that the team is facing. An anonymous developer reports that he is on the verge of burnout, prompting the team leader to take action.
What’s come to light: A negative review about the Respawn studio appeared on Glassdoor, a platform where employees can rate their company. This was shared on reddit and is currently generating a lot of buzz.
An anonymous developer from Apex Legends speaks about the current situation in the home office on Glassdoor. He states that he is currently working 12-13 hours a day and feels extremely burned out.
No postponed deadlines and a lot of stress
The employee reports: In his review, he addresses numerous points. He says:
- Every other company, like Epic, Activision, or Bungie, would postpone their project deadlines, but Respawn sticks to their deadlines.
- The employee works 12-13 hours every day and feels incredibly burned out and stressed while trying to meet the deadlines.
- There is no clear understanding of what can be achieved under the current circumstances, and planning is therefore poor.
- There is no attention to employee health. They only received two emails, but nothing more happened.
- Overall, the team is poor at developing a “live-service” game.
- The employee is in burnout and is considering leaving the company without having another job lined up.
What can be said about the allegations? Of course, one has to approach this with caution. After all, it cannot yet be said with full certainty that it is actually an employee of Respawn, but the statements sound very serious.
In fact, many large games have postponed their latest projects. The latest example of this is the postponement of the latest DLC in Destiny 2. This will be released in November instead of September.
In Apex Legends, Season 5 was also released with a delay, but it was only for a few days.
Team leader admits how difficult the situation is
How are the developers reacting? Respawn has already spoken out and addressed the allegations. Among others, Chad Grenier, the head of Apex Legends, commented on the reddit thread.
He writes that the transition to the home office is indeed a huge challenge and that they are all in uncharted territory.
The sudden switch to home office during a pandemic has indeed been very hard for the team; it was a learning curve, and we certainly had never experienced anything like this before, so we are all in uncharted territory. We certainly did not have the tools, technology, or systems in place to ensure a smooth transition from a team of several hundred people all on the same campus to a home office. During this transition, I knew that not only would the work be harder and less productive, but that people would also be battling a frightening global pandemic.
Chad Grenier on reddit
Grenier has always told employees to only work as much as they actually can. “Many have children at home since schools are closed, or maybe their work environment is not comfortable, they don’t have a suitable home PC, or they have to care for sick family members.”
The boss emphasized that Respawn and EA have provided employees with many options, including unlimited paid time off if they feel mentally or physically unfit.
Grenier then added: “Like a broken record, I kept asking people to talk to their managers if they are unable to complete their work on time without having to work overtime.” Delays are okay, but they need to be known in advance.
He also mentioned that there have already been delays in Apex Legends: “Do you remember the 2-week delay when the fourth season was supposed to end and then magically another 2 weeks were added at the end of the season without weekly challenges? Yes, that was because I postponed Season 5 by 2 weeks.”
In conclusion, Grenier says that he sees the problem also in the ambition of his employees. No one wants to disappoint the team or the expectant fans. Therefore, project managers have been urged to keep a closer eye, says the head of Apex Legends, and to report problems if something cannot be finished on time.
This is behind it: Due to the Corona crisis, most games are being created from home. Destiny, for example, switched to home office back in early March.
Here, the resources available are not the same as in large offices. Communication is significantly more limited. Not without reason have several features already been postponed.
A developer from CoD Modern Warfare and Warzone also explained in May that working from home brings advantages. One now better understands the needs of online gamers and knows what they actually want. But the drawbacks are naturally also present.
