Crunch-time is practically the industry standard in game development. It’s a problem that doesn’t seem to go away, no matter how much attention it gets. Last year reports emerged that Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us 2 saw an intense crunch period despite its delayed release.

Naughty Dog's co-president Neil Druckmann commented on the issues during one recent interview. However, he acknledged the problem but rejected the notion of a simple solution.

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Druckmann and and fellow co-president Evan Wells made ther remaks during an interview with Ben Reeves from Game Informer. The conversation covered a range of topics before eventually landing on the question of crunch time. Wells and Druckmann discussed various steps the studio is taking. These included taking on additional management to ensure current Naughty Dog projects are progressing smoothly. The studio is also working on creating more opportunities for employee feedback. Druckmann also explained that Naughty Dog’s leadership is also working harder to watch how employees handle stress and the workload.

last of us neil druckmann

Reeves then asked about unionization, an often-suggested answer to the problem of AAA crunch time. Wells and Druckmann largely dismissed the idea, expressing skepticism of unionization as a solution. As Druckmann explained, Naughty Dog has attempted in the past to create policies that prevented crunch. However, he argued these sorts of companywide changes inevitably lead to unforeseen complications.

Druckmann gave the example of Naughty Dog not letting developers work on Sundays, only for staff to complain that it disrupts their established schedules. He argued that situations like that are why Naughty Dog can’t just end crunch with a single policy change. “We find that there is no one solution that fits everybody,” Says Druckmann. “Everybody has a unique situation we might need to address.”

Responses to Wells’ and Druckmann’s statements have seen mixed reactions. Some, like Fanbyte contributor Kenneth Shepard, criticized the answers as “wishy-washy.” Shepard also rejected a claim from Wells that Naughty Dog could not simply implement a 40-hour workweek, pointing out that it is standard practice in many other industries. However, others, such as Naughty Dog environmental artist Anthony Vaccaro pushed back, defending the company’s efforts at reducung Naughty Dog's overreliance on crunch time.

Regardless, crunch culture has been a real issue with AAA developers for some time. Ubisoft, BioWare, Rockstar, and CD Project Red have faced similar criticisms for relying on crunch time to hit unrealistic deadlines. It seems only time will tell if Naughty Dog produces real solutions to the rampant overwork of game developers.

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Source: Game Informer