Employees that helped to create the highest grossing video game of the year have come forward with their stories.
The videogame industry has a long and unfortunate history of poor labor environments.
From skirting labor laws and overworking employees to get games completed on deadline in a method known as “crunch,” to plentiful accusations of sexual harassment, the industry’s practices have made headlines dozens of times, leaving many to wonder what’s wrong with the industry as a whole.
And yet the sector continues to flourish, taking in close to $201 billion in 2021 and predicted to reach a market size more than double that, $435 billion, by 2028.
Videogames have never been as mainstream as they are now, forever leaving behind the image of them as entertainment only for children.
The videogame industry’s labor conditions have prompted much public discourse. And thanks to the MeToo movement, its sexual-harassment problems are now in the spotlight more than ever. These efforts in turn have led many to believe that bringing diversity to the industry can help eliminate these issues.
But with three-quarters (76.3%) of videogame developers being male and white and a with a gender pay gap of roughly $7,000, there’s still a long way to go.
And now new labor accusations have surfaced about the developer behind one of the year’s most popular videogames.
FromSoftware Accused of Low Pay
FromSoftware, the Japanese developer behind this year’s enormously successful role-playing game “Elden Ring,” has been called out by both past and present employees via a job board, GamesIndustry.biz says in an exclusive report.
Both present and past FromSoftware employees are forbidden to give interviews about their work experiences. But several did so anonymously, saying they had to work overtime for two to three months when games were close to release.
But the bigger complaints were about monetary compensation, with reports that overtime is “generally included” in their salaries, but late-night overtime was paid at half the employee’s hourly rate.
Some also reported FromSoftware’s pay to be subpar relative to that of the rest of the industry. Per Career Connection, a Glassdoor-like jobs board, says the average salary of a developer at the company is ¥3.41 million — a little under US$25,000.
And while FromSoftware is considered a medium-size games developer, employing 349 people as of March 2022, other companies of similar size pay more.
GamesIndustry says it tried a number of times to reach FromSoftware for comment, to no avail.
‘Elden Ring’ Success Led to Some Changes
“Elden Ring,” a collaborative effort of FromSoftware and “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin, sold 16.6 million copies in its first six months after release, making it the top-selling videogame of 2022 so far.
Publisher Bandai Namco (NCBDY) reacted to the success in February by announcing a raise for all employees by an average of 50,000 yen (US$362) per month.
The publisher also said it would raise base monthly salaries by a significant amount, “from the previous ¥232,000 ($1,681) to ¥290,000 ($2,101).”
But Bandai Namco is a 17-year-old company with close to 10,000 employees, potentially allowing it more room to make such changes.
And while both Sony (SNEJF) and Tencent (TCEHY) own 30% stakes in FromSoftware, the company still operates independently.
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