Bandai Namco Announces Pay Raise for its Game Developers
Video games bring fun and excitement to people all over the world, even during the darkest times, like the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic. It stands to reason that those who toil to bring them to life should be reimbursed well, but it's unfortunately often not the case.
While video game developers are vying for better conditions and trying to form game development unions, at least one publisher is actively improving conditions for its workers. Bandai Namco has now announced that its developers will be getting a permanent pay raise, from entry level up.
Game Developers Are Sharing Their Salaries For Pay Transparency
Bandai Namco revealed in a press release that its employees will be receiving a 50,000 yen pay increase, paid monthly. It breaks down to about $5200 USD per year based on currency conversions at the time of this writing. Even new employees will see improvements, as the starting salary is moving from 232,000 yen to 290,000 yen, or $2000 to $2500 USD.
The press release also reveals that game developers will be able to telecommute and choose when they work. According to machine translation, the press release states: «In order to increase employee autonomy and creativity, we have introduced „Activity Based Working (ABW)“ that allows you to choose the time and place to work according to your purpose» with an available telecommuting allowance.
Game development has been an exhausting and often thankless form of work for nearly as long as video games have existed. Stories of game developers struggling with extreme crunch to the point of living out of their offices near deadline have been commonplace over the years, and recent stories have revealed how some game developers are dealing with unfair treatment and
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