Glen Schofield sighs, and shifts in his seat. The Striking Distance CEO is clearly excited to give us an exclusive glimpse of the opening of his studio’s forthcoming science-fiction horror The Callisto Protocol, as well as an extended look at a later section of the game. But he’s aware he has something else to address first. You wouldn’t exactly say he’s happy to talk about it – “I want to put the attention back on the game and not on this,” he says – but equally it’s clear he doesn’t want to simply sweep it under the carpet.
“Well, you know…” he begins, and sighs again. “It was a thank you,” he says, finally. He’s talking, of course, about a tweet he posted shortly after his return from a trip to promote The Callisto Protocol at Gamescom. Quickly deleted, its message about life at his studio – “working 6-7 days a week, nobody’s forcing us. Exhaustion, tired, Covid but we’re working… 12-15 hour days. This is gaming… U do it cause ya luv it” – created a firestorm among fellow developers and media alike. As per Twitter tradition, condemnation was fast and far-reaching, accusing Schofield of promoting the kind of culture of overwork that has become endemic in the videogame industry – a culture which, fortunately, many of its leaders are working to address.
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