Similar events are unfolding around the studio, although they have not received press coverage on the same scale as Rockstar’s legal battle in the United Kingdom.

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Obsidian Entertainment, the developer of Fallout: New Vegas, Avowed, Grounded, and The Outer Worlds. The suit alleges that the company systematically violated wage and hour requirements under California Labor Code and Industrial Welfare Commission, or IWC, wage orders. The case has been ongoing since last October, and an amended version of the class-action complaint was filed in January.

The lawsuit and subsequent amendment were filed by plaintiff Victoria Turner, whose name matches that of the quality-assurance lead for The Outer Worlds 2, who has also worked on games such as Mass Effect 3 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The complaint currently defines the class as anyone who worked for Obsidian in California as a current or former non-exempt employee from October 9, 2021, until the date of class certification. Turner is also seeking to include people who left the company on or after October 9, 2022.

Obsidian Entertainment Facing Class-Action Lawsuit over California Labor Violations
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The complaint alleges that Obsidian increased its profits by violating state wage and hour laws, including by failing to pay all wages, such as minimum wage, overtime pay, and wages due upon the termination of employment. It also alleges that Obsidian failed to pay the plaintiff and class members their wages on time during employment, failed to provide statutory meal breaks or compensation in lieu of them, and failed to provide statutory rest periods. The filing further alleges that the company failed to reimburse necessary business expenses and did not provide accurate, itemized pay statements.

In its response filed in early March, Obsidian stated that it denied all allegations raised in the class action, both generally and specifically. The company then listed 38 points in its defense, including the assertion that employees consented to and or tacitly accepted the defendant’s alleged conduct that the plaintiff is now challenging. There has been little progress in the case since March.

In 2019, Obsidian lead designer Brian Hines told PCGamesN that Obsidian was not the kind of studio that forced employees to work overtime, and that this was one reason people stayed there for so long. Employees were occasionally asked to work overtime for a week at a time, but developers could decline at any point.

Source: PC Gamer, PCGamesN