IbizaPocholo
NeoGAFs Kent Brockman
Star Citizen Developers Fed Up After Being Expected To Work During Devastating Texas Snowstorm
Last month, the entirety of Texas ground to a halt after a colossal winter storm pushed the state’s cordoned-off power grid to the brink. Power and heat outages, as well as resulting food and water shortages, led many businesses to temporarily shut down. This included a large number of Texan...
kotaku.com
Last month, the entirety of Texas ground to a halt after a colossal winter storm pushed the state’s cordoned-off power grid to the brink. Power and heat outages, as well as resulting food and water shortages, led many businesses to temporarily shut down. This included a large number of Texan video game studios. Of those that did not, however, one stands out: Cloud Imperium Games, whose employees’ confidence in the company remains shaken after they spent the week trying to juggle work and survival.
The Star Citizen developer has studios all over the world, but the core of the massively crowdfunded MMO’s operation, from a technological perspective, lies deep in the heart of Texas. In a statement to Kotaku sent the week of the snowstorm, CIG talked about how Austin employees had banded together to provide each other with aid, which employees speaking to Kotaku under the condition of anonymity say is true—because, functionally speaking, CIG had left them high and dry. The company concluded its statement by saying that “everyone at CIG has been very understanding and concerned about the situation the Texas team is facing and we’ve stayed in constant communication.” According to six sources who spoke with Kotaku, that part isn’t true.
Communication, all six sources agreed, was the biggest problem. The week began with an interaction that set the tone: On Monday, sources said, an Austin office manager told employees, many of whom had already lost power, to figure out how to make up for lost work time in the near future—specifically “this week/weekend as a first option,” according to one source. That source said the office manager continued: “Assuming roads are clear we also can manage a few people in the studio. If all else fails then enter PTO for whatever time you cannot make up.”
The expectation was clear, say the employees: Be prepared to work through a natural disaster, or make up for it later at the cost of off hours or vacation time.
In response to employees’ criticisms, CIG provided Kotaku with a statement. “CIG is saddened to hear these allegations from the anonymous sources,” a company spokesperson said in an email. “Our staff’s safety and well-being are a priority to us at all times. The Austin offices have remained closed to general staff since the beginning of the pandemic, with teams working from home. In the immediate aftermath of the Texas storm, studio leadership reached out to all 100+ Austin employees through their managers and individually to offer support; and continues to do so with actionable assistance for all of those who were affected.”
Check the link for more
