Glen Schofield, Striking Distance Studios boss and creator of Dead Space, has offered an apology The Callisto Protocol In a now-deleted Tweet, Schofield made some crunch remarks. Schofield stated that his team worked 12-15 hours per day, 6-7 days a weeks while eating lunch and dinner at work. He further acknowledged that employees were tired and exhausted, and there are even Covid infections going around the office, before claiming that his team is doing this out of passion and wasn’t being forced.
Callisto Protocol crunch comments were criticized by industry professionals
Anybody who knows me will know how passionate I am about my team. I tweeted earlier that I was proud of the hard work and hours the team had put in. It was wrong. We value creativity and passion, not long hours. I’m sorry to the team for coming across like this.
— Glen A. Schofield (@GlenSchofield) September 3, 2022
Schofield’s original tweet, which was promptly deleted, read:
During an event, I talk only about the game. We are working 6-7 days a week, nobody’s forcing us. Exhausted, tired, Covid, but we’re working. Bugs, glitches, perf fixes. Last pass through audio. 12-15 hr days. This is gaming. Hard work. Lunch and dinner. You do it cause ya luv it.
The tone-deaf tweet seemed to be a surprise, especially at a moment when many games industry leaders have been accused of overworking their workers. Considering Schofield is the CEO, people were at a loss of words when he claimed that “nobody’s forcing us,” without realizing the power dynamics at play here. Games industry executives are known to claim that crunch is “voluntary” while simultaneously overlooking those who don’t comply when it comes to promotions, and laying off those who even remotely attempt to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Needless to say, Schofield’s apology was met with a mixed response.
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