The devs behind Titanfall and Apex Legends got into the media’s crossfire via a Glassdoor review.

On Glassdoor, employees can provide feedback about their employers. Someone from Respawn Entertainment has done just that, and the critique has spread on the Internet like wildfire, claiming that despite the unexpected circumstances, Respawn did not budge an inch with the tight deadlines and development roadmap of Apex Legends. Thus, a lot of developers had to do some heavy overtime… from home. Not to mention, they also had to get used to the new scenario. The developer also claimed that Respawn encouraged the employees to work overtime from home while considering their mental health, too.

On Reddit, Chad Grenier, the director of Apex Legends, has responded to it, saying „a lot of this falls on him as a leader,” adding that Respawn has struggled to suddenly shift the working environment from an office job to working from home and arranging it. However, he claimed he continuously asked the staff to prioritize their health and if they can’t meet deadlines, just contact the managers and producers.

„We certainly didn’t have the tools, tech, or systems in place to make a smooth transition to going from a several-hundred person team on the same campus to a completely remote studio. Like a broken record I continuously asked that people speak up to their managers or producers if they will not be able to get their work done on time without crunching. Delays would be ok, we just need to know one is needed,” Grenier wrote in a lengthy explanation.

He later detailed Respawn’s and Electronic Arts’ measures put in place during the pandemic, and he also acknowledged that Respawn is far from perfect, but at least this studio cares more about its employees than the game and the profits that come from it.

It likely could be debunked, but we don’t work there, so we have no experience with them. Yet, if there’s a review on Glassdoor, then it has to be there for a reason. That reason should be addressed first.

Source: PSL

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