"Every meeting after that was always like, 'Hey, what are we gonna do to try and mitigate crunch? How are we gonna make this better?' And eventually, it was just an admission in the meeting, it was said, 'well, we've just come to realize that this is what it takes to make games at our level.'"
"Russell points out that this is similar to what was reportedly happening with Intergalactic back in December as the team was crunching to finish a demo for Sony to review, despite the game aiming for a 2027 launch."
"Russell talks about how part of the reason this keeps happening at the studio is because it tends to treat internal deadlines with the same weight as external ones."
Naughty Dog's history of crunch persists as the studio works on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Former designer Benson Russell noted that crunch is ingrained in the workflow, with internal deadlines treated as critically as external ones. Despite efforts to mitigate crunch after The Last of Us Part II, the studio's culture remains unchanged. Russell highlighted that the team often sets internal deadlines to regain focus, leading to extended work hours. This pattern reflects a long-standing issue within the company, impacting employee well-being and project timelines.
Read at Kotaku
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