A withering report from former employees of Bethesda and ZeniMax Media reveals horrible events that occurred during the development of Fallout 76. Fallout 76 is an open-world MMO that was first released in 2018 and was immediately fraught with problems. The number of technical and design issues, along with the poor quality of the physical content fans bought, was met with backlash and gave Fallout 76 a reputation at launch that hasn't truly lifted since its release.
Crunch time is a dreaded period in the gaming industry, known for long hours pushing developers to their physical and mental limits to get the game ready in time for launch. Everyone on the team is often put through intense stress that even follows them outside the workplace. It's so terrible that some fans - even the ones eagerly waiting for a game's debut - will accept delays over the developers being forced into crunch time. On top of the poor treatment of the employees, the rushed work more often than not results in a glitchy game that still doesn't feel finished. The stories told by these former Bethesda and ZeniMax employees as they worked on Fallout 76 are prime examples of some of the worst things that can come from crunch time.
10 former employees from both Bethesda and ZeniMax recall their time working on Fallout 76, and their recounts are heartbreaking. As reported by Kotaku, one developer stated "No one wanted to be on that project because it ate people. It destroyed people,” which only sets the stage for all the grim details that soon followed. These employees, all kept anonymous, were put through 10-hour days six days a week in the months leading up to the original release date. This overtime was reoccurring and mandatory, working all the employees to complete exhaustion. Distressingly poor management over the project led to testers and developers working on fixes that never even went into the game, resulting in all of their work being a complete waste and not improving Fallout 76 at all. While the employees were paid for their time, the wages were low and as one member of the QA staff stated "all the money in the world doesn’t matter at that point." Their troubles unfortunately only continued when Fallout 76 was released and met with almost immediate backlash over the glitchy state it was in.
Crunch time is a very frowned upon practice, which has become a sign of poor management and a bad reflection of companies in recent years. The seemingly endless cycle of wasted hours and work that put all of their employees through such emotional and physical stress is cruel. The project being a large open world MMO could be a reason why the project wasn't handled properly, with the scope being more than the managers thought they could handle. However, this hardly feels like an excuse, especially since Bethesda's Elder Scrolls Online had already been released at this point with generally more positive reviews.
Bethesda's games, along with the company itself, are no strangers to criticism. Bethesda has even apologized several times about the initial launch and communication for Fallout 76. However, fans and employees may be looking for another apology, and a promise of better employee treatment, as these stories come to light.
Source: Kotaku