Crytek finds themselves caught up in salary related controversy for the second time.
A very sad and real thing about the gaming industry is problems with labor practices. Crunch is a very prevalent problem within the industry, with programmers working long hours for no overtime. It does not stop there though, as there have been many scandals regarding the treatment of game developers. Even Crytek, a company famous for the Crysis series, had a scandal over not paying their workers two years ago. Sadly, history is repeating itself, as Crytek is once again not paying their workers. Some of them even go so far as to claim that they have not been paid in six months.
Crytek Black Sea, the Bulgarian branch of the company, is the source of this scandal. Acquired by Crytek in 2008, it has been developing a MOBA game known as Arena of Fate. A game that has yet to be fully released. When questioned why it was not paying it’s employees, Crytek provided a very simple explanation. The company hasn’t been making a profit for quite some time. The scandal two years ago was for similar reasons, employees not being paid to avoid the company going bankrupt.
There are also hints of acquisitions being made by “a big name company” but details are very thin at the moment. How Crytek’s employees will react to this is yet to be seen. Last time they refused to come into work, perhaps the same will happen here. Only time will tell.