Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is being released globally today, emerging as one of the most ambitious games ever created by DON’T NOD, once famed for the creation of Life is Strange. However, as a sour overshadow to that milestone, a French gaming union recently published a report talking of critical issues at DON’T NOD that are impacting staff and causing rampant internal issues.
‘We’re Sounding The Alarm’
In a breakdown by STJV, a French union, countless details were revealed about the inner workings of DON’T NOD. It was stressed that the organisation is ‘sounding the alarm’ against the developer, claiming that there are several key concerns impacting staff members at the firm:
- Contradictory directions being handed down by senior stakeholders
- Deadlines are changing without warning
- Employees are being moved sporadically with ‘no long-term vision’ of projects
- Teams have been left out in the cold by ‘a gruelling reorganisation’
It was claimed that a significant number of ‘ill-being and sick leaves’ have been taken by staff working at DON’T NOD. In terms of decisions being made at the highest level, it was said that developers were made aware of Banishers’ lengthy delay just 30 minutes before the general public was, highlighting a lack of transparency and erratic decision-making within the company.
It was also said that the team developing Jusant, which was released in October 2023, was shut down and ‘dispersed’ following a failure to meet commercial expectations.
In an employee survey, it was revealed that 30% of workers wouldn’t recommend friends to join DON’T NOD, and 50% of employees disapproved of the company’s corporate strategy.
In a damning claim, the STJV report stated that ‘management’s response to this is to bury its head in the sand’ and ignore communications issued by the union.
DON’T NOD has yet to reply to this report.
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