Fortnite is a very successful title and it comes with regular updates. Since Epic Games usually fixes in-game bugs in a matter of hours. But all this work comes at a big price. Anonymous employees have recently reported that they are facing mental breakdowns and they work almost 70 to 100 hours a week.
Former and current employees of Epic Games reported that the release Fortnite adversely affected the working conditions in the studio. Several dozen developers and managers who wished to remain anonymous made interesting confessions regarding the management of Epic Games. They said that the heads of the company put a lot of pressure on them and require them to work overtime.
According to sources, many studio employees work 70 to 100 hours a week, and some have to work seven days a week. It is reported that the studio leaders are hoping to extend the life of Fortnite as much as possible, therefore, they require immediate correction of bugs. One of the development teams refused to work at the weekend, which disrupted the deadline for the next patch. These employees were soon dismissed.
Anonymous Epic employees shared their experience working on Fortnite, per @Polygon. pic.twitter.com/4vXDjg41vv
— B/R Gaming (@BRGaming) April 23, 2019
This led workers to stop fighting for their rights because of the fear of being fired. At the same time, the demands continue to grow every day. A support service employee said that the average processed applications of his department in the six months increased from 40 to 3 thousand.
No Love for Epic
Those who refuse to work overtime are said to be considered poor in character and career opportunities are minimized. Complaints allegedly fall on deaf ears. While the contract workers are referred to as “bodies”.
Sources in the studio reported that one of the workers raised his voice at the meeting. He asked when the work environment will return to normal, he was soon forced to leave Epic Games. Many interview participants agreed with the fact that before the release of Fortnite, working conditions in the studio were very favorable.
Epic Replies
Such working conditions often arise in the gaming industry during crunching – stressful periods before the release of the product. At this time, the developers at an accelerated pace correct the remaining bugs and everything is “polished”. Employees at Naughty Dog, Rockstar Games, and many other large companies complained about these stressful working conditions. For the first time, Kotaku editor-in-chief Jason Schreier stated openly about this problem.
However, there is also talk of a very handsome salary and a motivating bonus system. Those who join the developer have very good chances of promotion in the company. According to Epic Games, most of the overtime is voluntary, and if that the case, then we hope that it stays that way. The employees hope that something will change because the working conditions are said to be so bad that some of them have mental breakdowns.
Let’s hope for the best since no matter it’s Epic Games or Rockstar, success in this world requires sacrifice. Even if you are a simple content writer.
