(Photo : Spiders Studio / Screenshot taken from Steam)
Developers of Greedfall 2, an upcoming fantasy role-playing game, announced that they will be staging a strike in protest of bad working conditions and the studio's mistreatment of its workers.
Paris-based studio Spiders, which is also responsible for the development of Steelrising and The Technomancer, published an open letter that was signed by 44 of the 95 staff to studio management.
Greedfall 2 Devs Stage Strike
Spiders is wholly owned by publisher Nacon and the open letter details "several years of known problems, which have been greatly amplified over the past year." This was due to the arrival of the current head of the company.
The workers noted several issues that they experienced, including instability, opposition to anticipating problems and securing working conditions, global mismanagement, and many others, according to IGN.
They also specifically talked about Greedfall 2, where they alleged that it has suffered a "difficult" production and there is "widespread anxiety and a loss of interest among employees." The staff added that they suffered a significant crunch working on the upcoming game.
They said that for many of them, it translates into a fear of releasing a disappointing game at the end and/or a feeling of shame over their own work. For others, it was the last straw that pushed them to look for work someplace else.
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On the other hand, Spiders studio released a statement regarding the issue, blatantly denying the alleged "false" and even defamatory accusations of the workers who signed the open letter, said Rock Paper Shotgun.
They argued that the accusations do not, in any way, reflect the reality of the day-to-day working life of the company's workers. It also called the accusations an attack on the reputation of the studio itself.
It said that its teams were fully mobilized to produce quality games and wanted to make sure that the early access release of Greedfall 2 pushes through.
Bad Working Conditions and Mistreatment of Workers
The studio said that its management was committed to open and constructive social dialogue but had unsuccessful attempts over the last few days with a delegation of employees.
Spiders called its workers the heart of the studio, noting that it was determined to maintain an inclusive and stimulating working environment.
The workers' open letter also said that management gave the impression that they treated them like "galley slaves" and argued that Spiders felt like a ship sailing with no one at the helm.
It also talked a little bit about gender equality, saying that the company made no efforts to improve recruitment and retention of women and marginalized people, according to GameSpot.
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