Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
In an interview with PCGamesN, The Outer Worlds senior designer Brian Hines stated that Obsidian Entertainment does not allow for harmful crunching during game development.
‘Obsidian is not a crunch studio, which is one of the things that keeps people staying there for a long time,’ Hines explained in the interview. Members of the team may be asked to work for longer ‘to meet a deadline for a week or so’ from time to time, but he affirmed that they are under no impetus to agree.
Hines added, ‘There really hasn’t been a crunch or a death march or anything like that with the studio for quite a long time, as far as I can remember anyway. That’s definitely one of the things that as a studio we’re very committed to, we’d rather cut something than try and get people to not have a life outside of the industry.’
Crunch is seen as endemic to the industry, with stories from behemoths like Naughty Dog and Kojima Productions proving that it affects development projects regardless of their scale. Yet, with stances like this from Obsidian and similar sentiments shared at other studios, hopefully industry practices will change for the betterment of all.
Rich played a bit of Obsidian Entertainment’s latest game The Outer Worlds, and he really likes its Fallout-in-space vibes. He bent Colm’s ear all about it, and you can watch the video preview below. The Outer Worlds for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC will arrive on October 25.
