Following Cyberpunk 2077′s delay to this September, CD Projekt Red announced that the team would have to crunch in order to meet the new release date. In a report from Gamedaily.biz, the International Game Developers Association has provided a statement criticizing CD Projekt Red’s decision to crunch.
“A studio as massively successful as CDPR would hopefully have the means to support a longer development cycle to reduce crunch,” says Renee Gittins, IGDA’s Executive Director. “While they have previously noted their crunch periods are not mandatory, the pressure to crunch is strong just from supporting longer hours and even stronger when directly asking developers to work nights and weekends.”
For those that don’t know, crunch is when a developer has to work excessive overtime in order to meet their deadlines. That could mean having to work on weekends and holidays, sometimes without extra pay. Studios like Naughty Dog and Rockstar have been subjects around the conversation around crunch in the past few years. Gittens goes onto say that the games industry needs to be more conscious of how to treat developers.
“Work-life balance is critical for the mental health of developers, and studios should consider the well being of their employees when determining a new release date,” continues Gittins. “Gamers have become more aware of the pressures on game developers and they are more understanding of delayed launches.”
In addition to Cyberpunk 2077, Marvel’s Avengers was delayed to September, Final Fantasy VII Remake was delayed to April, Iron Man VR was delayed to May, and Dying Light 2 was delayed to an unspecified time. After CD Projekt Red announced Cyberpunk‘s delay, they confirmed that the game’s multiplayer will probably launch after 2021.
Cyberpunk 2077 launches on September 17, 2020 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, and PC. The game is available for preorder on Amazon now.
The post IGDA Criticizes CD Projekt Red’s Statement on Crunch Following Cyberpunk’s Delay by David Gill appeared first on DualShockers.