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After some members of its workforce went on strike and penned an open letter criticizing the company, Greedfall 2 developer Spiders has announced new measures such as pay increases and remote working agreements. These new measures come less than three weeks out from Greedfall 2’s early access launch.
Last week, an open letter penned by employees and shared through the French STJV union made a series of concerning claims against Spiders. The letter criticized the studio for its working conditions, high staff turnover, poor management of its growing workforce, and no clear sense of direction. It also said that development on upcoming RPG sequel Greedfall 2 had been “painful” and that the project had been internally delayed multiple times. “The production is underwater, accumulating burnouts and other psycho-social risk factors, and the workers fear they won’t be able to be proud of their work when the game is released,” the letter claimed.
At the time, Spiders described these claims as “false and even defamatory accusations made by the STJV [that] in no way reflect the reality of the day-to-day working life of the company’s employees.”
With strike action taking place at the studio this week, Spiders has now revealed a number of new measures that it’s bringing in following a consultation with a “voluntary delegation of employees.” In a statement provided to PCGamesN, it says that it will be increasing its minimum salary by 11%, it agrees to not change working arrangements of remote employees, and it “will launch an audit of its working conditions and environment.”
Spiders’ statement also ends with some strong messaging around its attractiveness as a place to work, its denial of some of the claims made in the STJV statement, and the scale of the strike action.
“The management reminds that all Spiders employees are on permanent contracts and that the studio experienced growth in its workforce in 2023, demonstrating its attractiveness within the industry. For 2023, Spiders achieved a score of 94/100 on the gender equality index, and the management ensures that every employee or candidate is treated equally, without discrimination, and is committed to further improving
diversity within the studio.
“The management of Spiders emphasizes that the working conditions prevailing within the studio do not correspond to the portrayal made by some in the media in an attempt to destabilize the company. It notes that the strike call has been followed by a very small minority and only partially. The management relies on everyone’s sense of responsibility to ensure that the quality of dialogue it values and has maintained in the last days is preserved in the future.”
At the time of writing, there has not been a collective response or statement from Spiders staff or the STJV.
Greedfall 2 is set to launch in early access on Tuesday, September 24. So far, it appears the recent situation at Spiders has not resulted in any setback or delay to this date.
