Cyberpunk 2077 designer CD Projekt Red has actually told employees that six-day workweeks will be necessary ahead of the video games November 19th release date, although the studio has consistently and clearly guaranteed it would never ever do that, Bloomberg reports.
Jason: If Im a designer at CD Projekt Red and I state you know what I have kids, I have a family, Im going to work from 10am to 6pm every day, and thats it. Even till the very end. Am I going to be all right with that?
Iwiński: Yes. Yes.
Jason: No matter what.
Iwiński: Yes.
Jason: So you can dedicate to that?
Iwiński: Weve dedicated to that already.
On 2 separate occasions in 2019, studio co-founder Marcin Iwiński informed game journalist Jason Schreier how it would address crunch, as soon as even saying that “we wish to be more gentle and deal with individuals with respect.” It appeared quite clear from excerpts like this that mandatory crunch was not going to become part of it!
While CD Projekt Red didnt entirely toss crunch time out the window, the company was clear that workers would be able to say no. In one interview with Kotaku, Iwiński stated the studio would have a “non-obligatory crunch policy,” implying that while the business could still ask employees to work overtime, it would not be “compulsory.” The words in quotes are Iwińskis real words.
But by January, it was already beginning to appear like the business wasnt going to keep its pledge to employees. As Polygon notes, when asked whether the development team would be “needed to put in crunch hours” throughout an investor call in January, CD Projekt CEO Adam Kicinski addressed yes, recommending that it was somehow out of his hands: “We try to restrict crunch as much as possible, however it is the last. We attempt to be sensible in this regard, but yes. .”
” Weve extended all other possible ways of browsing the situation”
Cyberpunk 2077 was initially expected to release on April 16th, however the studio pushed the video games release to September 17th, saying the designers “need more time to finish play-testing, repairing, and polishing” the game. CD Projekt Red would then push the release date when again to November 19th, describing that the advancement group required additional time to “go through everything, balance video game mechanics, and fix a lot of bugs.” Weve currently waited this long and the video game is almost done: could CD Projekt Red simply push the release date one last time rather of forcing its designers to crunch?
In an e-mail acquired by Bloomberg, CD Projekt Red studio head Adam Badowski used a similar reason, suggesting that his company somehow has no option than to force workers to work harder to attend to the staying bugs and glitches in the video game– despite the fact that a CD Projekt Red staff member informed Bloomberg that some staff had already been working nights and weekends “for more than a year.”
“I know this is in direct opposition to what weve said about crunch. Its also in direct opposition to what I personally grew to think a while back– that crunch must never be the response.
Jason: If Im a designer at CD Projekt Red and I say you understand what I have kids, I have a household, Im going to work from 10am to 6pm every day, and thats it. While CD Projekt Red didnt completely throw crunch time out the window, the business was clear that staff members would be able to state no. As Polygon notes, when asked whether the development team would be “needed to put in crunch hours” throughout an investor call in January, CD Projekt CEO Adam Kicinski responded to yes, recommending that it was somehow out of his hands: “We try to restrict crunch as much as possible, however it is the last phase. Cyberpunk 2077 was originally supposed to introduce on April 16th, but the studio pushed the video games release to September 17th, saying the developers “require more time to complete play-testing, fixing, and polishing” the game. Weve already waited this long and the video game is practically done: could CD Projekt Red just press the release date one last time instead of forcing its developers to crunch?
