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Callisto Protocol director praises, then shuns crunch culture

But is Striking Distance addressing the actual issue?

The Callisto Protocol Director Glen Schofield has taken to social media to glorify — and then shun — crunch culture and unsuitable working conditions.

As screenshoted by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, Schofield composed a tweet that detailed how proud he was that his studio was working in a state of crunch.

“I only talk about the game during an event,” he began. “We [are] working 6-7 days a week, nobody’s forcing us. Exhaustion, tired, Covid but we’re working. Bugs, glitches, perf fixes. 1 last pass [through] aidio. 12-15hr days. This is gaming. Hard work. Lunch, dinner working. [You] do it cause ya love it.”

It wasn’t long before Schofield was criticised for his position.

“I’m not sorry for participating in discourse when it’s about pushing back on crunch culture,” wrote Firaxis’ Narrative Lead, Cat Manning. “That’s my responsibility as a lead: to make sure it isn’t normalized. Crunch is a failure of project management and to normalize—let alone glorify!—it is unacceptable to me.

“It’s not just about steering away from crunch, it’s about living and modeling a healthy life balance,” Manning continued. “My team is honest about when we’re stepping away and what for. Exercise, family time, seizing a really nice day—all of this is celebrated.”

“This was exactly how it was at Overkill on Payday 2,added Metal Hellsinger‘s David Goldfarb. “Sad that this shit continues even now.”

Schofield deleted his tweet in the face of such backlash.

While Schofield might be fine with working long hours over an extended number of days, many point out that his subordinates may not be… and that they could feel like their jobs are in jeopardy if they speak out against the practice.

The director later returned to Twitter with an apology, of sorts.

“Anyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about the people I work with,” he wrote. “Earlier I tweeted how proud I was of the effort and hours the team was putting in. That was wrong. We value passion and creativity, not long hours. I’m sorry to the team for coming across like this.”

It’s unclear if Schofield will take action to remove crunch conditions at Striking Distance.

Unless it’s delayed to bring about a work-life balance as Manning described, players can expect The Callisto Protocol on Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PS4 and PS5 from 2 December 2022.

The Callisto Protocol

2 December 2022
PC PS4 PS5 Xbox One Xbox Series S & X
 

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Steve Wright

Steve's the owner of this very site and an active games journalist nearing twenty (TWENTY!?!) years. He's a Canadian-Australian gay gaming geek, ice hockey player and fan. Husband to Matt and cat dad to Wally and Quinn.