What is the status of the action RPG Dying Light 2 from Techland? In the past two months, at least 20 employees have left the Techland studio. A report featuring several former employees sheds a negative light on the situation.
What is the situation regarding Dying Light 2? The post-apocalyptic action RPG was announced in 2018 by the Polish developer Techland. The release was planned for early 2020. However, in January of last year, it was postponed indefinitely. After that, it went quiet regarding the zombie game.
Not until December 2020 did Techland break the silence. However, the developers only announced that updates regarding the status could be expected in the new year – that is, 2021.
Developers talk about the conditions at Techland
What news is there now? A report on the website The Gamer features several former Techland employees who spoke about the conditions during development. The CEO of the studio, Pawel Marchewka, responds to these claims.
One employee reports, for example, that his work was dismissed with a harsh insult. His created artwork was described as “pedalski”, which translates roughly to “too gay”.
Pawel Marchewka does not deny this. When asked about it, he explained:
When we are in the idea phase, we have lively discussions with each other and let different ideas and opinions clash. Therefore, I can imagine that in a closely-knit team such words could be used. However, that is not our standard, and these statements do not meet our criteria in any way. We always remind our employees to be mindful of how they communicate.
Pawel Marchewka, CEO of Techland
Furthermore, it is said that a toxic work culture exists, which particularly affects women. In Pawel Marchewka’s office, for example, there is a picture of a naked woman next to a cheetah, which some female employees apparently find disturbing.
The CEO explains that it is a picture by English artist David Yarrow, but he will, of course, remove it if he receives indications that it disturbs female employees.
There are also said to be strange marketing ideas from Pawel Marchewka, such as depositing body bags with an unmarked delivery van at the border with Mexico. It was also planned to collaborate with the United Nations to create a video in which people panic and fight for water.
What about the employees? At least 20 developers have left Techland in the past 2 months. It is said that those who do not approve of the management’s ideas will have their responsibilities stripped away until they either leave voluntarily or have to be let go. Even industry veterans like Marc Albinet from Ubisoft, who has 30 years of experience in the gaming industry, have not been able to implement changes at Techland to improve the workflow.
Pawel Marchewka only wants to work with the best in the industry and explains that this staff turnover is a natural aspect of AAA game development.
We have been around for 30 years, and many of our employees have been with us for a long time. Developing games is hard, and it is normal to sometimes change jobs and seek new challenges. I am very sorry that some of our employees have left us and have chosen to find their way outside of Techland, but I always wish them the best.
Pawel Marchewka, CEO of Techland
The report from The Gamer paints a rather bleak picture of the situation surrounding the development of Dying Light 2. Perfectionism even in small details, such as the shape of spikes on enemies, is said to be continually slowing down production. Although there is a belief that the CEO has good intentions and wants to create the best possible game, he appears to be stagnating.
This reportedly leads to employees losing enjoyment and ambition in their work, burning out, and then looking for something else. When we can finally play Dying Light 2 remains uncertain.
Dying Light 2 is among the 25 games you should definitely keep an eye on.
