Naughty Dog crunch culture examined

Majora's Mask · Jul 25, 2019

It's why I always cringe when people say "Naughty Gods".

They make some of the best games in the industry, TLoU is one of my favorite games of all time. But I don't think they're very good if to achieve that they have to have their employees crunch to hell and back.

At the same time, I understand that the point where the industry is right now seems to have nowhere to go but to crunch in order to be sustainable. So yeah, crunch is bad but I don't know how the issue can be resolved.

IvanSlavkov · Jul 25, 2019

It will be best for most people to read the article before coming and posting, but this is a standard for ERA unfortunately. Crunch is bad no matter how you put it, but the coin always has two sides and reading the article, some of the devs that shared info make it sound not so bad.

"People as a whole usually stayed [late] by choice," said a developer who worked on Uncharted 4for several months. "With Naughty Dog, there is a culture to strive for perfection, but I think this is more due to their history of making amazing games. I never at any point felt internal pressure, I was compelled to do so by nature of being a part of something truly amazing."

"On top of this, Naughty Dog as a studio took great care of its staff, with frequent catering, food trucks, and paid meals," the developer continued. "Overall, I really enjoyed my stay there. I feel that the media overall has somewhat a false sense of what 'crunch' periods entail, and why they exist. Studios like Naughty Dog are full of very talented individuals that simply want to make a great game."

"I do agree with what [Maximov] has said," they told COGconnected. "It was never mandated from management, but Naughty Dog was (and I assume still is) in a unique place where longer hours and hard work are part of the culture. As long as they are upfront about that during the hiring process, then I feel this doesn't make it right or wrong."

"You can certainly join ND and work eight hour days," they concluded, "but since people around you are putting in so much effort, you can't help feel compelled to do what you can so their efforts aren't limited by you."

"You are surrounded by talented, passionate, people who focus on making the best possible product and you become inspired by that to devote all of your time and energy into your work," the source continued. "This is not to say that this is a healthy process, but I think how much someone is 'forced' to work is up to the individual." The source mentioned that working more than 60 hours was optional and said that "developers in other departments were empowered to set their own schedules [while] QA schedules were set by the department leads."

HardRojo · Jul 25, 2019

SleepSmasher said:
Hyperbolic replies and "boycott" to TLoU 2 in 3, 2, 1...

This is crunch we're talking about, 6 day weeks 12 hours a day (or more) is not acceptable in any field of work unless you're getting days off after that week to compensate. This situation needs to change and if people want to boycott studios until something changes, no one should criticize those people for doing so.

headspawn · Jul 25, 2019

ghostcrew said:
I work in the music industry and it 100% happens there. On all levels, from producers to bands (obviously) to management to labels etc. Coming up to a big release or during a tour or whatever. People work 7 days, all hours of the day/night. I feel like this probably happens in all of the arts.

I can't think of a single job that's its not at least somewhat of a norm.

I was a cook, I did it constantly and then in music production, maybe a bit less consistency, but sometimes things need to be done at odder hours there.

People always go full boner about unions here yet two of my closest friends are in unions, one a plumber, the other in steel.. when overtime comes up they're still pressured to pick it up. The newer they are, the more they know they'll be the first pulled when projects slow.

My wife and brother are nurses and over the years from different positions (LPN, RN, Hospice, Medic) and Holy fuck all of the above applies there as well, be kind when you go to a hospital.

I'm curious what work fields with lots of demand, good pay and such don't have some form of crunch or seemingly endless available overtime. And people saying they shouldn't do it or even allow it... sometimes you look at your paycheck and your bills and yeah, time and a half and bonuses for picking up extra shifts is a hell of an incentive sometimes.

Betty · Jul 25, 2019

Majora's Mask said:
It's why I always cringe when people say "Naughty Gods".

They make some of the best games in the industry, TLoU is one of my favorite games of all time. But I don't think they're very good if to achieve that they have to have their employees crunch to hell and back.

At the same time, I understand that the point where the industry is right now seems to have nowhere to go but to crunch in order to be sustainable. So yeah, crunch is bad but I don't know how the issue can be resolved.

The only way it can be solved is if gamers don't mind lower quality games.

or

If gamers don't mind waiting even longer for big, AAA, highly polished games to get released.

I don't see either happening and even if both did, business wise there's probably pressure for developers to get games made asap.

spman2099 · Jul 25, 2019

I am horrified by all the people stanning for crunch. We have seen the "passion" argument, some healthy whataboutism (but what about the other tech industries), and some people suggesting that we can't have better working conditions because third world countries have awful working conditions (thus they will just take all our jobs). Hell, we had someone fighting tooth and nail with EVERYONE, making themselves look like a complete asshole, for pages. And for what? I am not sure that crunch could ever be wholesale eliminated... but surely people understand that it could be FAR better, right? Surely we could do better than this, right?

Unionization and better management (because managers aren't going to tighten this shit up unless the unions are forcing them too) seem to be the immediate answer. Once again, not the answer for fixing everything. The answer to making things SOMEWHAT better.

P.S. I know that most people here haven't been praising crunch, but I still find the amount of people who were to be a little disturbing.

SeanBoocock · Jul 25, 2019

Horns said:
I doubt any of the big developers don't experience this.

It varies a lot, both among studios and then even within individual teams. It's as much (or more) a culture thing as it is a function of project circumstances. The general trend in the industry has been towards better work life balance. Naughty Dog is notorious for their culture around work and I would suspect that legacy/inertia drives the production schedule more than anything else.

PrimeBeef · Jul 25, 2019

jsnepo said:
Try again? Sorry but it's an honest question. I got no agendas for asking.

My apologies. There is always a bunch if dishonest arguments on this topic especially when someone's favorite dev is the target.

The Struggler · Jul 25, 2019

Shame and it sucks but I wont be able to resist TLOU Part 2

PrimeBeef · Jul 25, 2019

PeskyToaster said:
I'm kind of against overtime in general. At the end of the day, unless you're saving someone's life, what are you really getting out of those extra hours? An extra car off the assembly line? Another report done, some spreadsheet saved? A game comes out on some shareholder schedule? And the only cost is time, your most valuable, nonrenewable resource or your health. What an amazing trade-off! Even more of your one life, the only one of your life that will ever exist for all of time in all of the universe. The most unique and precious resource given so some company can hit its gizmo deadline.

I mostly agree. But if overtime is limited and sparse than I have no issues with it. I work 32 hours a week. Have done so for almost a year now with the exception of 3 months when our second assistant left leaving me to be the only one in the office. Which meant I had to cover two rooms daily and the Fridays and Saturdays we worked. I went above 40 2 weeks each month until Doc found someone she felt comfortable with.

Shit happens and extra hours are needed from time to time. But crunch is a different beast and anyone saying it is necessary is wrong.

Canas Renvall · Jul 25, 2019

SleepSmasher said:
My argument is that crunch happens pretty much everywhere. You don't need a PhD to understand the examples there.

No it doesn't. Unions actually prevent this from happening. Funny how that works.

DrDeckard · Jul 25, 2019

good to see we have moved on from absolutely not accepting this to giving examples of all the industry's that people work over time. (crunch)

Weird how we all know this thread would be completely different if it was a less loved studio.... Maybe there would be more gods in this industry if all studios worked 80 hour weeks?

Majora's Mask · Jul 25, 2019

Betty said:
The only way it can be solved is if gamers don't mind lower quality games.

or

If gamers don't mind waiting even longer for big, AAA, highly polished games to get released.

I don't see either happening and even if both did, business wise there's probably pressure for developers to get games made asap.

And I suspect is only going to get worse with the new generation, as in, with more power developers will want to do more things they weren't able to do in the current gen. Sigh.

The whole industry feels like it's in a box with no exit in sight.

JuanLatino · Jul 25, 2019

the videogame industry sounds really really scary.
I have a friend who worked in a Gaming Studio working on VR Games, and he had a burnout after 6 months.
Based on what he told me and his unversity friends, it seems like, these crunching working hours are a given....

Deleted member 2254 · Jul 25, 2019

DrDeckard said:
good to see we have moved on from absolutely not accepting this to giving examples of all the industry's that people work over time. (crunch)

Weird how we all know this thread would be completely different if it was a less loved studio.... Maybe there would be more gods in this industry if all studios worked 80 hour weeks?

Yeah, it's unfortunate how the fact this studio makes amazing games makes it okay in the eyes of many. People gladly shit over Activision pulling absurd shit on their various COD devs (right now it's Treyarch's turn but all the others have been there in some way), with no posts defending those execs for forcing ("encouraging") constant crunching. With Naughty Dog it's... "well some people like to work a lot" "well other studios do it as well, no biggie" :\ Sad stuff.

texhnolyze · Jul 25, 2019

DrDeckard said:
good to see we have moved on from absolutely not accepting this to giving examples of all the industry's that people work over time. (crunch)

Weird how we all know this thread would be completely different if it was a less loved studio.... Maybe there would be more gods in this industry if all studios worked 80 hour weeks?

"But there are people who are passionate and love to work hard!"
"But there are women who love to wear sexy/barebone clothes!"

"Crunch? That's just how the industry work"
"Pandering? That's just how Japanese people roll"

Same dance, different tune. All for the sake of video games.

Soupman Prime · Jul 25, 2019

SleepSmasher said:
Hyperbolic replies and "boycott" to TLoU 2 in 3, 2, 1...

I don't think so. Wasn't it bad with Mortal Kombat but whenever we get sales it just seems everyone just applauds the game and studio. Not sure anything will change.

night814 · Jul 25, 2019

SleepSmasher said:
I'm obviously not ok with it. But it's always the same reaction and same replies, and I bet a lot of people here love to showcase "support" by posting on a forum but will be there day one for their latest release. It's hypocritical. Also, crunch happens fucking everywhere in the tech industry. It's a shame but it is what it is. Not buying product or services from these companies won't do shit to change this, as history shows.

The problem is though is crunch does not need to happen, they are trying to meet a date that they decided and can change at anytime. Having a game like TLOU2 delayed may change Sony's financial outlook for a quarter or two but its not going to hurt sales especially if the reason is "we don't want to crunch" like Nintendo just did with Animal Crossing. It's the companies that have to wake up, not the consumers who don't think crunch is ok or worth it.

Hubologist · Jul 25, 2019

In the company of highly driven and highly skilled individuals, it doesn't strike me as surprising you have people who willingly put in extra time and effort to see things through. It doesn't strike me as surprising that they expect the same of their peers. It doesn't strike me as surprising that this creates pressure for others to do the same. It doesn't strike me as surprising those who don't put in those hours will be resented by those who do; that's human nature.

I wonder how much longer development cycles for AAA games would be if everyone called it quits after 8 hours of work?

Betty · Jul 25, 2019

Majora's Mask said:
And I suspect is only going to get worse with the new generation, as in, with more power developers will want to do more things they weren't able to do in the current gen. Sigh.

The whole industry feels like it's in a box with no exit in sight.

Yeah, if only there was some method to speed up development without burning out the creators.

Gold Arsene · Jul 25, 2019

Hubologist said:
In the company of highly driven and highly skilled individuals, it doesn't strike me as surprising you have people who willingly put in extra time and effort to see things through. It doesn't strike me as surprising that they expect the same of their peers. It doesn't strike me as surprising that this creates pressure for others to do the same. It doesn't strike me as surprising those who don't put in those hours will be resented by those who do; that's human nature.

I wonder how much longer development cycles for AAA games would be if everyone called it quits after 8 hours of work?

This post and the behavior described in it are disgusting.

Deleted member 2226 · Jul 25, 2019

SuikerBrood said:
Peer pressure is a stupid thing. Management should've stepped in.

They won't step in because they want it.

That's where this is so insidious: you don't put anything in writing but you can still make it clear that unless you put in crazy hours you don't have a future at the company. If crunch is the only way these games get made in the timeframes than they are obviously building games expecting and wanting crunch.

Deleted member 5028 · Jul 25, 2019

SuikerBrood said:
Peer pressure is a stupid thing. Management should've stepped in.

Management know. They justify crunch with words like passion.

Kemal86 · Jul 25, 2019

Over ten years ago on Saints Row 2 we were doing 9am-Midnight Monday-Friday and another ten hours on Saturday. This was all mandatory. Towards the end we had a couple 24 hour days. It was a nightmare that never seemed to end. Sad to see that ten years later this is still happening.

Mugen X · Jul 25, 2019

This is the nature of the industry unfortunately, if you guys don't want crunch, be prepared to wait 5-6 years for games. I agree that it can't be sustained, devs will eventually begin to leave the industry if work weeks like this continue. Somehow they need to figure out how to advance development and make the process quicker and easier. No one should have to work these obscene hours, I also feel as though the ppl working on these games lose the passion for it if they're tired and burnt out all the time.

Technesis · Jul 25, 2019

Still not sure how these devs work these hours but but don't get compensated in how much they get paid pre and post release.

the-pi-guy · Jul 25, 2019

Betty said:
The only way it can be solved is if gamers don't mind lower quality games.

or

If gamers don't mind waiting even longer for big, AAA, highly polished games to get released.

I don't see either happening and even if both did, business wise there's probably pressure for developers to get games made asap.

The frustrating thing about crunch, is that it actually doesn't lead to things getting done better or faster. It leads to the opposite, but everyone assumes it doesn't. Employers assume it helps, but there's literally decades upon decades of research on how it hurts companies.

Working long hours leads to short term gains, but the companies that push month after month of it, they'd be better off not doing long hours. In the long term ~40 hours leads to higher productivity.

Doing 12 months of 40 hour work weeks would lead to higher productivity than 12 months of 80 hour work weeks, but work culture puts a lot of emphasis on people putting that time in.

jsnepo · Jul 25, 2019

PrimeBeef said:
My apologies. There is always a bunch if dishonest arguments on this topic especially when someone's favorite dev is the target.

No worries. i dislike crunch culture too. I also first noticed in in the PS2 generation with God of War. The documentary keeps raising alpha as some exhausting phase of development that the studio is proud of because they have passionate people working on the game.

Pryme · Jul 25, 2019

IvanSlavkov said:
It will be best for most people to read the article before coming and posting, but this is a standard for ERA unfortunately. Crunch is bad no matter how you put it, but the coin always has two sides and reading the article, some of the devs that shared info make it sound not so bad.

"People as a whole usually stayed [late] by choice," said a developer who worked on Uncharted 4for several months. "With Naughty Dog, there is a culture to strive for perfection, but I think this is more due to their history of making amazing games. I never at any point felt internal pressure, I was compelled to do so by nature of being a part of something truly amazing."

"On top of this, Naughty Dog as a studio took great care of its staff, with frequent catering, food trucks, and paid meals," the developer continued. "Overall, I really enjoyed my stay there. I feel that the media overall has somewhat a false sense of what 'crunch' periods entail, and why they exist. Studios like Naughty Dog are full of very talented individuals that simply want to make a great game."

"I do agree with what [Maximov] has said," they told COGconnected. "It was never mandated from management, but Naughty Dog was (and I assume still is) in a unique place where longer hours and hard work are part of the culture. As long as they are upfront about that during the hiring process, then I feel this doesn't make it right or wrong."

"You can certainly join ND and work eight hour days," they concluded, "but since people around you are putting in so much effort, you can't help feel compelled to do what you can so their efforts aren't limited by you."

"You are surrounded by talented, passionate, people who focus on making the best possible product and you become inspired by that to devote all of your time and energy into your work," the source continued. "This is not to say that this is a healthy process, but I think how much someone is 'forced' to work is up to the individual." The source mentioned that working more than 60 hours was optional and said that "developers in other departments were empowered to set their own schedules [while] QA schedules were set by the department leads."

People have read that. That's basically peer pressure keeping people in the office and away from their families or rest.

Unfortunately, crunch seems to be inescapable in most software development firms, and games are no exception.

Bold One · Jul 25, 2019

ClivePwned said:
I can't see how ND always seems to get a pass on this.

I love the studio, but they get a pass waaaay more than this.

If EA or Activision had pulled the same shit ND does on mtx....

Betty · Jul 25, 2019

the-pi-guy said:
The frustrating thing about crunch, is that it actually doesn't lead to things getting done better or faster. It leads to the opposite, but everyone assumes it doesn't. Employers assume it helps, but there's literally decades upon decades of research on how it hurts companies.

Working long hours leads to short term gains, but the companies that push month after month of it, they'd be better off not doing long hours. In the long term ~40 hours leads to higher productivity.

Doing 12 months of 40 hour work weeks would lead to higher productivity than 12 months of 80 hour work weeks, but work culture puts a lot of emphasis on people putting that time in.

You're probably right, I personally would rather the dev's got to take as much time as they wanted without killing themselves because it'll likely result in a higher quality product overall.

mael · Jul 25, 2019

Anyone thinking that crunching is out of the "free will of the employees" never worked in a company a day in their lives.
If you think for one second that once crunch is started you can have a worker go like "nah, I'm fine. I'll just go home and rest" without any issue and that worker isn't going to face consequences you have poorer reading on people interaction that you can claim to ever lack.

Kazaam · Jul 25, 2019

RedSparrows said:
Do films have crunch? Trying to think of any other (collaborative) creative endeavour that has crunch built in. I know it can happen in any pursuit, but this feels systematic.

It depends on a lot of things (country, production type, production stage, role, etc.), but yes. That being said (as others have mentioned) nothing in the mainstream film industry is as bad as crunch within the VFX department. It can get outright atrocious and a lot of the time crunch is due to poor management or communication (and not because ... oh we're so passionate about it). As one could imagine, Marvel is one of the worst culprits when it comes to this

stormfire · Jul 25, 2019

SleepSmasher said:
I'm not ok with the drama that ensues every single time there's a thread about crunch here. Like another user said above, it's almost like it only happens with game studios. There's probably crunch happening at the bakery close to your place. Or at your Internet provider. Or your local supermarket. It's simple as that. And yes, we should talk about it but then the "I'm done with ND or "X" dev starts to pop up and it's just cringy as fuck because you know these people won't stop buying their games. Almost saving this thread and comparing user by user with the official TLOU2 OT to ask about it again in the near future.

https://variety.com/2019/gaming/news/fortnite-epic-games-developer-crunch-report-1203195976/

https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/cd-proje...7-crunch-than-devs-endured-for-the-witcher-3/

Doomguy Fieri · Jul 25, 2019

Sleeping at your desk and not seeing your children for weeks is totally worth the mud in that one part of the game looking really good.

The cult speak from some of these guys is dark stuff. Nobody is forced to work 80 hour weeks, they CHOOSE to in pursuit of producing gaming perfection worthy of the Naughty Dog brand. Anyone satisfied with less is free to go home at any time. Yikes!

Sheepinator · Jul 25, 2019

ND's work culture has been common knowledge forever. Not saying that to excuse it, just that I don't think anybody going to work there is surprised. Making 90+ rated top selling games is hard.

mael · Jul 25, 2019

Sheepinator said:
ND's work culture has been common knowledge forever. Not saying that to excuse it, just that I don't think anybody going to work there is surprised. Making 90+ rated top selling games is hard.

Making sub 50 rated game is hard as well, that excuses nothing.
Other companies manage to make games without grinding their employees to paste.

Sheepinator · Jul 25, 2019

mael said:
Making sub 50 rated game is hard as well, that excuses nothing.
Other companies manage to make games without grinding their employees to paste.

Top selling highly rated games? Not EA, not Rockstar, not CDPR, Nintendo's history with crunch 15-20 years ago was horrendous although their management claims to have improved. Like I said, it's hard.

ket · Jul 25, 2019

Sheepinator said:
ND's work culture has been common knowledge forever. Not saying that to excuse it, just that I don't think anybody going to work there is surprised. Making 90+ rated top selling games is hard.

What's surprising here isn't that ND devs crunch. It's that management/leads/work culture pressure them to do so. Whenever ND talked about crunch before it's always been framed as passionate developers working really hard. The reality is way more complicated than that.

m_dorian · Jul 25, 2019

mael said:
Making sub 50 rated game is hard as well, that excuses nothing.
Other companies manage to make games without grinding their employees to paste.

I agree with this reply.

Yeah, I tired of reading the same indifferent corporate defense all the time.
It is what it is because some people making excuses about it.
It is what it is untill it isn't and companies need to be called out for it every effing time.

mael · Jul 25, 2019

Sheepinator said:
Top selling highly rated games? Not EA, not Rockstar, not CDPR, Nintendo's history with crunch 15-20 years ago was horrendous although their management claims to have improved. Like I said, it's hard.

And you think the rest of the industry is lollygagging or something?
Making games is hard, making well rated games is not specifically that much harder than already shipping a game.
You think the armies at Ubi are working harder on AC Odyssey than they did making Unity or ACIII?
This is such a warped view of what it takes to make a game.

The worst part is they probably would be more productive and efficient if they worked less, there is such a thing as diminishing returns in term of work hours.

ket said:
What's surprising here isn't that ND devs crunch. It's that management/leads/work culture pressure them to do so.

It's good business for them.
They don't even need to pressure their employees, they do it themselves.

Hubologist · Jul 25, 2019

Gold Arsene said:
This post and the behavior described in it are disgusting.

Can you explain why? Have you ever worked in a team? Have you ever been inspired by someone you look up to?

"Disgusting" just seems a bit strong.

Sheepinator · Jul 25, 2019

mael said:
And you think the rest of the industry is lollygagging or something?
Making games is hard, making well rated games is not specifically that much harder than already shipping a game.
You think the armies at Ubi are working harder on AC Odyssey than they did making Unity or ACIII?
This is such a warped view of what it takes to make a game.

The worst part is they probably would be more productive and efficient if they worked less, there is such a thing as diminishing returns in term of work hours.

Of course it's harder to make something that's great. I can't believe you're suggesting otherwise. It's the difference between 1 pass on something and 6 passes. It's the difference between "good enough" and "awesome". It's the difference between cutting some content because it looks tough to do in the time left, and getting it done and done well.

I do agree they could be more efficient working a bit less.

mael · Jul 25, 2019

Sheepinator said:
Of course it's harder to make something that's great. I can't believe you're suggesting otherwise. It's the difference between 1 pass on something and 6 passes. It's the difference between "good enough" and "awesome". It's the difference between cutting some content because it looks tough to do in the time left, and getting it done and done well.

I do agree they could be more efficient working a bit less.

You have obviously never heard of dev hell.
Game development is not pushing a switch and then cranking gfx to 11
And it's not because you have more people working more hours that the final product is going to end better for the end user.
This is not how any of this works.

pixelpatron · Jul 25, 2019

As much as I LOVE Naughty Dog games, out of principle I'd never work for them if the culture is indeed crunch heavy as I've heard (which to be honest any AAA game development studio has crunch). It's why I went to making 3D art for mobile; profit sharing, sane hours, fun work environment, super fun art styles, less immediate pressure, work from home 2 days a week. It's bliss.

In contrast to the 9 month crunch on MAG (kinda worth it) and Socom 4 (totally not worth it). Even if ya get a good game out the door, it's mostly forgotten within 5 years. Sure there are standouts that become timeless, yet the investment at an individual basis never pays out equally to the sacrifices. Sure I got a bonus, yet those same hours and extra effort could of been spent with my family that in reality should never have a price tag.

Meffer · Jul 25, 2019

RedSparrows said:
Do films have crunch? Trying to think of any other (collaborative) creative endeavour that has crunch built in. I know it can happen in any pursuit, but this feels systematic.

We follow schedules and meet deadlines to the best of our abilities. We film on these dates for this long yada yada.

Sheepinator · Jul 25, 2019

mael said:
You have obviously never heard of dev hell.
Game development is not pushing a switch and then cranking gfx to 11
And it's not because you have more people working more hours that the final product is going to end better for the end user.
This is not how any of this works.

I am 100% certain I know a hell of a lot more about this than you. Please, keep educating on how it's just as hard to make a 90% rated game as a sub-50 rated game.

Deleted member 4761 · Jul 25, 2019

Looks like a terrible place to work.
Hope Sony fix this.

AcademicSaucer · Jul 25, 2019

Klobrille said:
Holy shit. I would be burned out after one week lol

I understand a bit of crunch can be needed prior to certain milestones now and then, but this is ... Just too much.

And apparently they don't make as much as the people working business software

Deleted member 2840 · Jul 25, 2019

Blakhavoc said:
This is the nature of the industry unfortunately, if you guys don't want crunch, be prepared to wait 5-6 years for games. I agree that it can't be sustained, devs will eventually begin to leave the industry if work weeks like this continue. Somehow they need to figure out how to advance development and make the process quicker and easier. No one should have to work these obscene hours, I also feel as though the ppl working on these games lose the passion for it if they're tired and burnt out all the time.

Wrong.
Crunch doesn't happen because development is "slow" or because we need to make the process "quicker".
Crunch is ALWAYS a management problem.
ALWAYS.
Game developers are crunching because:
1.Their release estimation, usually done years before the actual date, is wildly off.
2. Scope, features, mechanics, all sorts of things change a lot while development is already going on.
3. A lot of people are only hired to work on the game when the game is like a year from the release date, as management starts realizing that hey, maybe having X amount of devs to make the game in Y years doesn't work. But as everyone that worked in software development knows, adding developers like this only slows down development for some time.

A management that is controlled by suits at the top of a publisher inevitably ends up fucking those points up, which leads to crunch.
It bugs me the FUCK out to see so many people on this fucking forum going "well it's part of game dev! You either get crunch or you get delays!"

BULL
FUCKING
SHIT

Naughty Dog crunch culture examined

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