Outsourcing studio Red Kite Games shared its experience in dealing with crunch

Recycling is a serious problem of the gaming industry. According to last year’s research, 60% of video game creators periodically work in crunch mode, spending 60-80 hours a week in the workplace. Some justify this trend, others consider it to be a disease ruining the industry. Simon Iwaniszak, Managing Director of the gaming outsourcing company Red Kite Games, spoke about his experience of protecting employees from overtime.

According to Ivanishchak, they did not manage to completely free themselves from overwork, but it turned out to reduce such a load to a minimum. At the same time, Red Kite Games has worked on projects of various scales: from small mobile titles to such AAA games as Call of Duty: Strike Team and the new God of War.

Simon advises to immediately stipulate and prescribe in the contract a specific number of hours and time frame in which employees should be engaged in the project. Accidents will happen in any case, but the contract will help developers maintain a healthy balance between business and personal life.

“I am proud of the fact that I have never said in my life and I will not tell my subordinates that they cannot go home because they have tasks left,” Ivanishchak stressed.

The management structure that Simon adopted from Rockstar, where he worked before, also helps to optimize the work of the studio. It includes production process management, IT infrastructure, security and other elements. According to Ivanishchak, the well-established structure simplifies interaction with large companies that work on the same principles.

He also advised novice developers to first try their hand at the outsourcing sector of the gaming industry. This will give you good experience and funds, which can then be invested in your own project and make it better.

Also on the topic:

• Alex St. John: to create games is not to roll bags, so don’t complain about crunchesThe ex-lead of the Xbox project called professional burnout a big problem of the gaming industry
• Source: Venture Beat