Epic Games has announced that its office will be closed for a two-week hiatus between June 24th and July 8th, giving its staff some much needed time off. The news is easy to miss if one is not paying attention, as it was placed at the end of a recent blog post about the Week 10 World Cup Online Open.

Despite the break, the blog post also states that there will still be two content updates added to Fortnite during this time, the details of which will be released via patch notes. The news is a positive development from a few months ago, when Polygon reported how the success of the game was also the cause for intense workplace crunch at Epic Games.

Via: Polygon.com

For the unfamiliar, crunch within the video game industry pertains to the intense periods of work-life imbalance that often come when deadlines near for the launch of a new game or some new content. Companies like NetherRealm Studios, Riot, Blizzard, CD Projekt Red, Telltale Games, and a host of others have recently been in the news as workers speak out against such conditions.

Most speak only under a shield of anonymity, as many consider that part of crunch and a generally toxic industry is that those who resist or decline to put in the 100-hour weeks to meet deadlines are ostracized, thus fearing for their jobs.

Since these stories have been in the headlines, some companies have actively worked to eliminate anything that might resemble crunch in the workplace. CD Projekt Red commits to treating its employees better during the development of Cyberpunk 2077, and Grinding Gear Games also pushed back development dates for a Path of Exile content drop in order to keep its workforce balanced.

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Nintendo also recently made a strong statement as one of the biggest in the industry. At E3 last week, they revealed the long-anticipated new game in the Animal Crossing series, only to then state that it has been delayed by over nine months, now to be released in the Spring of 2020. They later elaborated that the decision was purely made with the interest of maintaining a positive work-life balance for their employees.

Via: Forbes.com

And so, this mandatory two-week break for Epic Games’ employees too looks like a promising step in the right direction. We need the largest players in the industry to treat their employees well. Otherwise, the cycle of employee crunch will continue in the pursuit of the almighty dollar.

Fortnite is available on Mac, PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices.

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