The creators of upcoming fantasy RPG Greedfall 2 have announced plans to go on strike in protest against the game’s management weeks before its release.
Parisian studio Spiders, which also developed Steelrising and The Technomancer, has published open letter signed by 44 of 95 employees to the studio’s leadership, including CEO Anne Devouassoux. Spiders is wholly owned by publisher Nacon, which IGN has reached out to for comment.
The open letter outlines “several years of known problems that have been significantly exacerbated over the past year with the arrival of the current head of the company: instability, refusal to anticipate problems and secure working conditions, global mismanagement, turnover and recruitment issues, unacceptable delays in achieving gender equality and parity, a significant lack of transparency, denial of problems, refusal to recognize employee representation, and stalled negotiations.”
In the case of Greedfall 2, employees say that production was “difficult” and that “there is a general feeling of unease and loss of interest among employees.” Employees also said that working on the game brought them significant difficulties.
“For many, this means fear of releasing a disappointing game at the end and/or feeling ashamed of their work,” the employees said. “For some, this is the final straw that pushes them to look for work elsewhere.”
Elsewhere in the document, the staff claimed that Greedfall 2’s budget “has been reworked multiple times, and the Early Access launch has been postponed several times.”
“The management gives the impression that we are treated like galley slaves in the hold of a ship, rowing endlessly, with no knowledge of the route or destination,” the employees said. “Spiders gives the impression that the ship is sailing without anyone at the helm.”
Greedfall 2 currently has an early access release date of September 24, 2024, with a full release planned for less than a year later. That seems unlikely, according to the staff.
“Early Access has been painful, as evidenced by the numerous delays, and a full release less than a year later seems difficult to achieve because there’s still so much to do,” they said.
Workers have released a list of demands and outlined a plan to strike the week of September 2. Workers said pickets will be held outside the company’s offices and online, on a Minecraft server created especially for the occasion.
The Spiders’ strike comes amid a growing labor movement in the video game industry, as workers seek to protect themselves from mass layoffs and threats from artificial intelligence. In July, Starfield developer Bethesda Game Studios became the first Microsoft studio to fully affiliate with the Communication Workers of America, creating a wall-to-wall union for developers, including artists, engineers, programmers, and designers. The Sega of America union ratified the deal earlier this year.and Activision’s quality assurance employees announced the formation of their own union.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
