CounterPunch Interview: Talent Shortfall, Management, And Diversity

thegamer.com:

“I hope that we are a good example of fair business practices, work-life balance enablement, and professional and respectful treatment of staff,” Kay Arutyunyan, CounterPunch co-founder and general manager, tells me. “Business success can be paired with a positive and fulfilling working experience, and should not come at the expense of employees’ well-being.”

Based in Los Angeles, CounterPunch is a 3D animation studio that has been creating and co-producing characters’ animations with many well-known gaming developers and tv studios for years. Among their most popular projects, the team has worked with NetherRealm Studios to polish the facial and body animations of Mortal Kombat 11’s characters, provide facial animation assets for 343 Industries’ Halo Infinite, and aid with the creation of some of DC series Titans’ superheroes, among others.

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Arutyunyan, whose career in video games production started more than ten years ago, co-founded CounterPunch in 2011 with Andrew Egiziano, the studio's chief executive officer, who has been working in entertainment since the 1990s. Her team has been growing in scope and projects since Virtuos, another much bigger company in the same venue, has acquired CounterPunch.

Arutyunyan is aware of the relevant issues companies have when looking for new workers, or the problems minority employees face, such as the lack of opportunities in the industry, depending on their gender, identity, and nationality – an issue that has persisted for decades.

Compared to when she was making her first steps in video games production, Arutyunyan feels like there have been positive changes in gaming. “I feel that the industry has