The success “Fortnite” comes at the costs Epic Games’ employees.
Fortnite is undoubtedly one the most successful video games out right now. With their constant updates and revamps to the game, they keep things refreshing for their users. Unfortunately, this comes at a price that employees at Epic Games have to play. According to a new report, employees from the company detail excruciating work weeks — upwards to 100 hours — in order to maintain the success the video game.
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Polygon conducted interviews over the past few months with employees and contractors at Epic Games who’ve admitted they’ve been working extensive hours at the company to maintain the Fortnite‘s success. These laborious hours have many employees working 70-hour weeks while others are logging in 100-hours. A few people have reportedly suffered health issues due to the hours.
“I work an average 70 hours a week,” said one employee. “There’s probably at least 50 or even 100 other people at Epic working those hours. I know people who pull 100-hour weeks. The company gives us unlimited time f, but it’s almost impossible to take the time. If I take time f, the workload falls on other people, and no one wants to be that guy.
Working crunch is reportedly expected and a few people have admitted that those who’ve refused to work weekends got fired. Another source said that the demand has impacted his sleeping patterns and general behavior at home.
“I hardly sleep. I’m grumpy at home. I have no energy to go out. Getting a weekend away from work is a major achievement. If I take a Saturday f, I feel guilty. I’m not being forced to work this way, but if I don’t, then the job won’t get done.”
Despite the claims made by employees, a spokesperson for Epic Games denied that the 100-hour weeks were a common recurrence.
“People are working very hard on Fortnite and other Epic efforts,” a spokesperson said “Extreme situations such as 100-hour work weeks are incredibly rare, and in those instances, we seek to immediately remedy them to avoid recurrence.”