The head of development of “Diablo 4” said in an interview that the reason why the small team he worked for in the past had a serious overtime culture was because “the company was on the verge of collapse at the time.” But he also emphasized that this situation should not happen in a AAA studio. If you are a large studio with sufficient resources and you still have an overtime culture, that is purely a management problem.
What is the difference between overtime on a small team and overtime at a AAA studio?
According to this developer, small teams working overtime on urgent projects is a survival mechanism: if the company has no money, you have to make something before the deadline, otherwise there is no need to talk about it. But for those AAA studios with sufficient resources and funds, continuing to maintain a culture of overtime is a choice rather than a necessity!
The developer’s comments touch on a long-standing problem in the gaming industry. Fans and practitioners have long debated: Which overtime is “necessary” and which is just “the result of management errors”? This speech is equivalent to giving a relatively clear judgment standard from an insider’s perspective.
Players agree with this statement!
Many players agree with this statement and think it explains why some studios can make good products without giving up their employees, while some studios can’t do both. However, some players pointed out that knowing the problem and being able to solve it are two different things. The overtime culture in this industry will not disappear just because of a few interviews.