An October 27 assertion from workers of Don’t Nod, the developer greatest recognized for making the unique Life is Strange video games, warn that the corporate is in peril of insolvency and layoffs, and accused its administration of “unlawful” practices which have brought on workers “uncertainty and anxiousness.”
The damning statement comes from workers who’re members of the French sport trade union Le Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo, which revealed that Don’t Nod is at present below a safeguard to assist shield itself from insolvency (which means that the corporate wouldn’t be capable to pay its money owed).
The assertion claims workers have been approached by administration and given “a number of monetary situations” that might occur within the close to future, each of which “included redundancies,” with the worst case forecasting the “liquidation of the corporate via 2026.”
The message states that “almost the entire non-managerial jobs” have been lower at Don’t Nod, which reportedly included all animators, character artists, idea artists, affiliate producers, and most environmental artists, sound designers, stage designers, programmers, QA testers, HR and builders. Half of its sport designers have been additionally laid off, based on the assertion.
“Management is extraordinarily clearly going for closely individualized focusing on and hasn’t been shy about their intent to maintain chosen individuals in relatively than jobs, which is against the law,” the union wrote.
The assertion goes on to assert that administration is betting on outsourcing to tackle the workload of those fired staff members — a choice that the union feels is “out-of-touch.”
The letter then says Don’t Nod workers have been “dwelling on the sting, in uncertainty and anxiousness” for the final two years, to the purpose the place six office accidents occurred this 12 months and an inquiry was not too long ago launched right into a “severe and instant hazard.” It additionally alleges that administration “refused to let those that could be prepared to go away earlier undergo a voluntary go away plan,” saying they “don’t care in regards to the injury it offers to workers’ well being.”
The assertion ends on a hanging be aware; a authorities company that represents workers is ready to make its ruling on November 3. After that, administration can have 21 days to resolve on a plan. If this plan is accepted by the federal government company, it’s potential that workers might “get their firing letters on November 25.”
“If it have been to be rejected nevertheless, administration must return to the drafting board and improvise as a result of, as you might need gathered, planning for contingencies isn’t their forte,” the letter concludes.
That is the most recent information to floor concerning Don’t Nod’s dire monetary straits after it was warned by auditors in a monetary report that it might run out of money as early as November. Its newest sport, Aphelion, was launched earlier this 12 months to middling evaluations, and given this current union tell-all, its subsequent challenge may very well be in peril.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s Information Editor. With ten years of expertise reporting on video games and leisure, she’s received a storied background within the preventing sport group, influencer information, and viral on-line traits. Discover her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.