https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/19/22942053/epic-games-full-time-employment-contingent-workers

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Filed under:

  * Gaming
  * Policy
  * Entertainment

Epic Games is making hundreds of temp testers into full employees
with benefits

New, 7 comments

The Fortnite developer is offering "a few hundred" of its
contract-based workers full-time employment

By Emma Roth Feb 19, 2022, 1:11pm EST

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[acastro_20] Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Epic Games is hiring its US-based contingent workers full-time and
with benefits, Epic confirmed to The Verge. The Fortnite developer is
extending the offer to quality assurance (QA) testers, as well as
other "eligible" contract-based employees.

The news first surfaced in an employee-facing memo obtained by The
Verge. In the memo, the company writes it will "offer full-time
at-will employment to eligible US-based contingent workers," and that
"many of those offers will be effective April 4th, 2022." But it also
notes that some workers won't receive the offer, citing "there are a
few exceptions in which it makes sense for both the worker and Epic
to maintain contingent worker status."

`"Most but not all" are quality assurance (QA) testers'

Epic spokesperson Elka Looks told The Verge that the game developer
will hire "a few hundred" of its contractors, and that "most but not
all" are quality assurance (QA) testers. Looks confirmed that all the
workers will be eligible for the company's US employee benefits
plans, and will also be directly employed by Epic Games. The studio
currently contracts out QA testers and other workers through temp
agencies, including Eastridge, Hays, and Nextaff.

Looks also said the company will still hire contingent workers for
"short-term needs," however. She didn't have any additional
information to share about the other types of contingent workers
(outside of QA testers) Epic will be hiring, and didn't specify which
workers are excluded from the offer.

Epic's move to make its contract-based workers full-time employees
comes at a time when tensions between workers and major game
development studios are high; not to mention that it's a huge step
towards improving working conditions for QA testers and other
workers. In December, Activision's Raven Software laid off a dozen QA
testers, prompting a walkout, and later the organization of the Game
Workers Alliance union.

The game industry has become known for subjecting workers to
incredibly long hours during (sometimes unpaid) periods called
"crunch," and Epic is no exception. In 2019, Epic was met with
criticism after its workers revealed the long workdays that go into
keeping the wildly-popular battle royale, Fortnite, on track with
fans' expectations. Epic Games later closed its studios for two weeks
in response to employees' concerns.

Last year, Epic Games ended its COVID-era policy that let workers
take every other Friday off, upsetting employees who say the extra
day off is beneficial. A number of independent developers have
transitioned to the four-day workweek, including Young Horses, Crow
Crow Crow, Die Gute Fabrik, and more.

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