Epic is no exception to the gaming industry’s practice of forcing employees to very long hours during (sometimes unpaid) “crunch” periods. Epic was chastised in 2019 after employees revealed the long workdays required to keep the immensely popular battle royale, Fortnite, on track with players’ expectations. In response to staff concerns, Epic Games shut down its studios for two weeks.
Epic Games abandoned its COVID-era policy of allowing staff to take every other Friday off last year, displeasing employees who said the extra day off was useful. Young Horses, Crow Crow Crow, Die Gute Fabrik, and other indie developers have made the switch to a four-day workweek.
