Crunch culture continues to play a major role in video game development, and many devs understandably want to avoid this stressful kind of situation. Now, Cyberpunk 2077 devs are reportedly being forced to work crunch time, making CD Projekt Red the latest in a list of companies accused of video game dev crunch culture in recent months.
Cyberpunk 2077‘s launch date is creeping up on fans, and will release not long after the Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles. The action RPG is one of the most highly-anticipated games of the year, but it’s coming at a price. Recent allegations of mandatory six-day work weeks are directly conflicting with reports from CDPR’s higher-ups last year claiming they’d not implement mandatory crunch time.
Cyberpunk 2077 will be a complex game, and so far, fans have gotten lots of exciting news about how gangs will work, and how lifepaths will make player characters more unique. However, all this detail is coming at the expense of CDPR devs allegedly being forced to work extra hours, according to Jason Schreier of Bloomberg News. The reporter claims that last year he interviewed some of CDPR’s “bosses,” who approached him specifically to ask that he announce they wanted to keep mandatory crunch out of the Cyberpunk 2077 development process.
This stands in contrast to what Bloomberg is now reporting, which is that CDPR is mandating six-day work weeks for its devs up until the project’s release date. This isn’t the first time CDPR has been accused of forcing excessive overtime, although unlike other companies like Rockstar, CDPR has shown no sign of improving its workplace policies and fighting against crunch culture internally.
Crunch culture is concerning enough on its own for damaging employees’ work-life balance and promoting unhealthy work ethics, but it’s even more concerning that CDPR is going back on the promise it previously made to Bloomberg. It’s unclear what CDPR told its employees, but understandably, many devs forced to crunch are unhappy with their bosses’ decision to mandate overtime.
CD Projekt Red is giving out a lot of information and content related to Cyberpunk 2077, and while it is exciting to get closer looks at what the game will look like, it’s also important to make sure the devs who put in so much hard work are treated well. After all, fans wouldn’t ever get the game if it weren’t for the hard-working developers, who are apparently not only being overworked, but misled by their employers.
Cyberpunk 2077 releases November 19 for PC, PS4, Stadia Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: Bloomberg
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