The Korean studio Netmarble is behind games like Lineage 2 Revolution. In the past, developers died from overwork. Now, measures are being announced to prevent this.
We have reported in the past about Netmarble and the deaths there. A young developer in his 20s reportedly died after regular work weeks comprising 89 hours. He had been forced to work irregular night shifts and overtime. Even on the day of his death, a Sunday, he was supposed to return to work, according to reports at the time.
The employee had been healthy before the medical checks; after the killer shifts, he died of a heart disease. The brutal working hours were associated with the mobile hit “Lineage 2 Revolution”. The game then became a massive success in Korea.
The death occurred at Netmarble Neo, a subsidiary of Netmarble.
Other deaths among the staff at Netmarble have also been suspected to be related to overwork.
The pressure from the public and the government on Netmarble grew, and the company has initiated measures to ensure a “healthy lifestyle” and a “reasonable work-life balance” for its employees. Now, “family” is the focus of the work philosophy, reports the Asia-focused site MMO Culture.
Flexible hours and night work ban
In the future:
- The core working hours are between 10 AM and 4 PM, with a one-hour lunch break. Those who start at 8 AM can go home at 4 PM. Those who start at 10 AM can leave at 6 PM.
- Employees are prohibited from working between 10 PM and 8 AM unless they have been granted special permission in advance.
- Pregnant employees only need to work 30 hours a week.
In Asia, there are specific words for “death by work stress”
The gaming industry is famous for its “crunch time”: the killer overtime when a game needs to be finished. In Asia, this coincides with a culture of workaholics. In Japan, there is even a specific word for people who work themselves to death: Karōshi. This describes deaths caused by heart attacks or strokes resulting from work-related stress. In South Korea, it is also known as: kwarosa.
More about the tragic death we reported on at the time:
Crunch Time: Young developer worked himself to death – 89-hour week
