Covid Is Forcing Video Game Companies to Rethink Remote Work
Being able to work from home will ease the burden on relocation in an industry where job turnover is high.
Jordan Lemos, a writer for video games, has lived in three different cities over the past five years. He moved from Los Angeles to Quebec to Seattle, working on blockbusters such as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Ghost of Tsushima, because the jobs required it. So when he was looking for a new gig last year, he told prospective employers he wasn’t going to do it again. He would only work remotely.
Several big game companies were quick to say no once they heard his ultimatum. But Aspyr Media Inc., the Austin, Texas-based developer behind the highly anticipated Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic remake, was fine with the arrangement, offering a contract that will let Lemos work from his apartment in Seattle even after the pandemic ends.