Dead Space creator and Striking Distance Studios boss Glen Schofield has apologized for The Callisto Protocol crunch comments that he made in a now-deleted tweet. Schofield wrote that his team was working 12-15 hours a day for 6-7 days a week while having lunch and dinner at work. He further acknowledged that employees were tired and exhausted, and there are even Covid infections going around the office, before claiming that his team is doing this out of passion and wasn’t being forced.
The Callisto Protocol crunch comments attracted criticism from across the industry
Anyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about the people I work with. Earlier I tweeted how proud I was of the effort and hours the team was putting in. That was wrong. We value passion and creativity, not long hours. I’m sorry to the team for coming across like this.
— Glen A. Schofield (@GlenSchofield) September 3, 2024
Schofield’s original tweet, which was promptly deleted, read:
I only talk about the game during an event. We are working 6-7 days a week, nobody’s forcing us. Exhausted, tired, Covid, but we’re working. Bugs, glitches, perf fixes. One last pass through audio. 12-15 hr days. This is gaming. Hard work. Lunch, dinner working. You do it cause ya luv it.
The tone-deaf tweet seemingly came out of nowhere, and at a time when games industry leaders are frequently being called out for overworking their employees. Considering Schofield is the CEO, people were at a loss of words when he claimed that “nobody’s forcing us,” without realizing the power dynamics at play here. Games industry executives are known to claim that crunch is “voluntary” while simultaneously overlooking those who don’t comply when it comes to promotions, and laying off those who even remotely attempt to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Needless to say, Schofield’s apology was met with a mixed response.
