Crunch: Tiga calls devs ‘our most vital resource’

Game development trade body Tiga has called on studios to remain watchful of their developers’ well-being during inevitable crunch phases.

The group’s CEO, Richard Wilson, implied studios shouldn’t shy away from hard work, but added that crunch periods should be kept to a ‘bare minimum’.

“Many people in many different industries sometimes work long hours, including farmers, lawyers and medical consultants,” he said.

“People in game development can also work long hours, but crunch is something that obviously all developers want to avoid.

“The game developers who work in our studios are the industry’s most important resource – they are the talent that create the games that companies sell and which the public enjoy.

“It is crucially important that CEOs and MDs nurture their talented workforce and care for their health and well-being.

Tiga’s comments come in the wake of revelations that some staff at New York studio Kaos have been forced to work minimum 10-hour days, sometimes for six days a week.

Details of the situation can be found here.

Wilson concluded: “It’s vital that games companies project manage game development effectively and efficiently and keep crunch periods to a bare minimum.”