Tantalus CEO: Lack of Job Security in the Games Industry - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 22 October 2012 / 6,520 Views
Tantalus CEP Tom Crago, speaking with Gamasutra, has said that there is a lack of job security in the games industry and that developers need to be more open with their employees.
"I felt a huge sense of responsibility to the people working for me, and then you have pride and ego playing their part in the process as well," said Crago. "And like a lot of studios we held on for far too long. I'm happy that our guys were able to stay employed for longer as a result, but ultimately you don't do anyone any favours by pretending the world hasn't changed"
"I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could do things better, from a studio perspective, and I made a lot of changes," added Crago. "Fundamentally, and I realize this is a little controversial, I came to the conclusion that in an industry as volatile as video games, it's impossible to put your hand on your heart and say to any of your developers that their job is going to be secure for the next five or 10 years."
"I feel like anyone who does that is kidding themselves, and so I determined to be much more transparent about our business, both in terms of its challenges and its successes."
Crago has implemented a system in which every year he shares 20 percent of the companies with the employees, which is on top of other bonuses. "I feel like it's a pretty fair system," Crago said.
