According to the developer, a balanced work-life balance will lead to “even better games”.
Eidos Montreal, the studio currently assisting Square Enix with its Guardians of the Galaxy translation, announced that it has begun a transition to a four-day work week.
In a blog today, the developer announced that staff had already made the shift from a 40-hour workweek to 32-hour week, and have closed studios on Fridays, without any salary changes. The developer said that the company doesn’t intend to reduce five days of work to four and instead hopes the transition will force the studio to be more focused.
The idea is not to reduce work hours to 4 days but to examine our methods and improve our time spent, all with the goal of working more efficiently. We want to improve the productivity and well being of our employees.
“Concretely we want to decrease the time spent at work but increase the quality of the time invested, regardless of whether it’s for the entire studio or a team. The promise of a right balance for all!
For many years, four-day work weeks have been a cultural problem. This was only made more acute by the pandemic. Recent Icelandic trials found that shorter work weeks were an “overwhelming victory”. This allows workers to have more time for themselves and not compromise productivity. A shorter work week also helps to curb overwork and crunch. The games industry is well-known for being in serious trouble with .
Eidos isn’t the only studio to offer four-day work weeks. Young Horses, a Bugsnax designer, recently switched to shorter weeks along with other smaller studios such as Die Gute Fabrik or KO_OP. Eidos Montreal, a developer of its scale, is the first to make the leap and could be a leader in a wider industry shift to healthier work structures.
According to reports, a Montreal-based developer claims that the four-day work week does not apply to QA at Eidos. Contractors are technically not employees. I reached out to Eidos Montreal regarding their comments.
