tldrdailynews.com logo
Tag

Crunch

All articles tagged with #crunch

Crunch as Hiring Filter: Bulkhead Screens Applicants for Anti-Crunch Views
video-games23 days ago

Crunch as Hiring Filter: Bulkhead Screens Applicants for Anti-Crunch Views

Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer says Wardogs' development includes crunch and that candidates’ social media are scanned for anti-crunch posts; those who speak out are unlikely to be hired. The article also notes Bulkhead's ongoing stance on crunch, past experiments with four-day weeks and working hours, changes to paternity leave, and equity-based payouts for staff, while critics warn the hiring approach could normalize harmful crunch culture in the games industry.

via Aftermath|
#bulkhead#crunch#labor-practices
Wardogs screens candidates’ social posts for crunch stance, CEO reveals
business23 days ago

Wardogs screens candidates’ social posts for crunch stance, CEO reveals

Wardogs’ Bulkhead studio reportedly screens prospective hires’ public posts for anti-crunch messaging and won’t hire those who criticize crunch; CEO Joe Brammer says crunch will happen but the studio aims to avoid it, framing a hard-working culture with perks like a December break and a four-day workweek for half of development, while noting staff redundancies and uneven bonuses.

via Rock Paper Shotgun|
#bulkhead#business#crunch
Wardogs Studio Says Crunch Will Happen and They Vet for Anti-Crunch Posts
news24 days ago

Wardogs Studio Says Crunch Will Happen and They Vet for Anti-Crunch Posts

Bulkhead, the studio behind Wardogs, says crunch is sometimes unavoidable and they hire people who don’t publicly criticize it; they reportedly check candidates’ social media and won’t hire those who advocate against crunch. The company argues crunch can be rewarding for those who commit, points to shares/bonuses for employees, and notes Wardogs has sold about two million copies. Bulkhead has laid off staff yearly for six years and was named a UK Best Place To Work in 2023–2024 but not in 2025.

via Kotaku|
#bulkhead#crunch#hiring-policy
GTA 6 Budget Tops $1B, Redefining Game Production Costs
technology1 month ago

GTA 6 Budget Tops $1B, Redefining Game Production Costs

GTA VI is expected to be the most expensive game ever, with budgets rumored to exceed $1 billion and possibly reach $1.5 billion as a result of a decade-long development, massive animation work, and ongoing live-service content; the piece places the cost in context with other big games and films, notes crunch and workplace controversies, and suggests the online component could sustain revenue for years despite doubts about the return on such an investment.

via Engadget|
#budgets#crunch#gta-6
Rockstar workers allege pay gaps and mandatory crunch as UK union drive grows
business3 months ago

Rockstar workers allege pay gaps and mandatory crunch as UK union drive grows

Rockstar Games employees and members of the Rockstar Games Workers Union allege opaque pay practices, a widening gender pay gap, and a culture of crunch baked into UK contracts, with discretionary bonuses and unstable promotions. They say overtime is incentivized rather than regulated and remote-work concessions are being rolled back, while unionization efforts push for voluntary recognition; Take-Two says it offers competitive pay and is open to dialogue.

via Game Developer|
#business#crunch#gta-vi
Rockstar staff push for union recognition as GTA VI looms
labor3 months ago

Rockstar staff push for union recognition as GTA VI looms

Rockstar Games workers have filed for voluntary recognition by the IWGB Game Workers Union, claiming a significant cross-site majority and seeking pay transparency, flexible scheduling, and reduced crunch; the move follows past layoffs accused of union busting, a September tribunal on those firings, and ahead of GTA VI’s November 19 launch at a $79.99 starting price, with Take-Two saying it will discuss with the union as industry-wide unionization efforts grow.

via The Verge|
#crunch#gta-vi#iwgb-game-workers-union
Dev warns Star Wars Eclipse could be canceled amid looming layoffs
technology3 months ago

Dev warns Star Wars Eclipse could be canceled amid looming layoffs

Quantic Dream staff warn that Star Wars Eclipse could be canceled if the planned layoffs of about 115 workers proceed, saying the studio is already understaffed and losing that many would halt production; a French union strike presses for safer restructuring as Lucasfilm Games monitors progress. The project, announced in 2021 and set during the High Republic era, remains uncertain amid past abuse allegations at the studio.

via Rock Paper Shotgun|
#crunch#labor-unions#layoffs
Rockstar Game Workers Union Forms, Plans Legal Challenge Over Dismissals
business4 months ago

Rockstar Game Workers Union Forms, Plans Legal Challenge Over Dismissals

The Rockstar Game Workers Union (RGWU), under the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain, has publicly formed and begun preparing a court case against Rockstar Games over the firing of 31 unionizing employees, accusing the company of union-busting. The union is growing across Rockstar sites in Edinburgh, London, Leeds, Lincoln, and Dundee, and is calling for pay transparency, flexible working, and an end to crunch, while fundraising for legal fees as GTA VI looms and Take-Two projects strong earnings.

via Game Developer|
#business#crunch#iwgb
Crunch Was The Price Of Naughty Dog’s Creative Quality, Former Designer Says
news5 months ago

Crunch Was The Price Of Naughty Dog’s Creative Quality, Former Designer Says

A former senior Naughty Dog designer says crunch was ingrained in the studio’s workflow, with internal discussions implying it’s necessary to make games at their level; despite efforts to mitigate crunch after The Last of Us Part II, insiders and Bloomberg report the pattern has resurfaced during Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet’s development to meet internal milestones and a Sony demo, suggesting a continued cycle of overtime driven by deadlines.

via Kotaku|
#bloomberg#crunch#intergalactic-the-heretic-prophet
Gunzilla CEO Denies Pay Delays, Praises Crunch, Teases Data Sale in Crypto
news6 months ago

Gunzilla CEO Denies Pay Delays, Praises Crunch, Teases Data Sale in Crypto

Gunzilla CEO Vlad Korolev pushed back on reports that the studio owed staff pay, saying only contractors faced delays to avoid disrupting operations and that full-time salaries hadn’t been delayed for years; he attacked critics as haters, defended ongoing crunch as necessary to deliver a project on the scale of Call of Duty, boasted about Off the Grid’s growth, and even floated access to player data for 100k GUN cryptocurrency, a claim juxtaposed with former employees’ reports of back pay and Off the Grid’s Steam peak of under 20,000 concurrent players.

via Kotaku|
#controversy#crunch#gunzilla
Larian CEO Admits to Mild Crunch on Baldur's Gate 3, Writer Prioritizes Quality Over Earnings
gaming2 years ago

Larian CEO Admits to Mild Crunch on Baldur's Gate 3, Writer Prioritizes Quality Over Earnings

Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke admitted that the development team for Baldur's Gate 3 had to work overtime, or "crunch," to complete the game, though it was less than for previous projects. Vincke emphasized that while some overtime is inevitable in game development, the team did not overly crunch, with employees rarely working past 8pm or on weekends. The issue of crunch remains controversial in the gaming industry, but Baldur's Gate 3 has been highly successful, earning numerous awards and a perfect score from IGN.

via IGN|
#baldurs-gate-3#crunch#game-development