French union flags concerns for welfare of Don't Nod staff
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Original story: French union STJV has said it is concerned about the welfare of employees at Life Is Strange developer Don't Nod, in part due to alleged erratic organisation but also to the studio taking on more projects than it can handle.
The union laid out the issues that it has reportedly discovered in a post on its website, which elaborated on problems with the studio's organisation and its communication with its workers.
The body claimed that, based on conversations it has had with staff, the studio is known to change its deadlines frequently, give contradictory information to teams, and move staff from team to team with no clear goal. As of October 2023, Don't Nod has eight titles in the pipeline.
For example, it's claimed the studio disbanded the Jusant production team after the game failed to meet commercial expectations, moving the team members onto other projects – but many ended up without any work for more than two months.
The union added that the breakup of this team was a "sudden decision" that Don't Nod failed to justify to the company's social and economic committee (CSE, an internal organisation representing a company's workers).
Similarly, the team on the upcoming Banishers was allegedly only informed that the game's launch was being pushed from November 7, 2023 to February 13, 2024 just 30 minutes before the public announcement.
The STJV said it is concerned about the psychological and social impact for Don’t Nod workers as it’s been informed of needing to be signed off work, or suffering from increased stress.
It also claimed every team is understaffed, and that while contractors have been called in to deal with production emergencies, it is "always on precarious contracts."
"This situation is a danger to the health of the workers and imposes enormous pressure on teams who are increasingly struggling to meet deadlines," the union wrote.
The STJV claimed that Don't Nod management
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