This archived content from 2008-2013 reveals significant concerns about work-life balance at BioWare, particularly regarding the 'sympathy crunch' where employees were required to be present during other teams' overtime. Contributors describe a 'cult of personality' around founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, which some felt enabled demanding conditions and discouraged dissent. While BioWare offered perks, accusations of illegal firing practices and pervasive long hours were common, reflecting broader 'crunch culture' issues across the video game industry.
Every atomic assertion extracted from the underlying record, ranked by evidence strength.
An anonymous commenter states life at BioWare is "not as bad and as bad as implied in this article. But mostly not as bad."
A 2013 recruiting marketing blog post on the BioWare blog stated, "We are clearly moving away from the concept of 'sympathy crunch.'"
Milez5858 claims BioWare uses "cult like tactics" to keep employees towing the company line.
The 2011 blog post suggests being satisfied that sending bugs to co-workers will make them more miserable during a "sympathy crunch."
Later comments from BioWare employees, including the 2013 recruiting post, indicate "sympathy crunch" was not abolished until well after 2008.
Milez5858 observes "cult like mind control" over young men enamored by BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk.
Milez5858 claims BioWare continually fires people without warning, which is illegal in Canada.
BioWare provides free breakfast and dinner for overtime workers.
Long hours are a trend in American white-collar work across many industries (banking, law, consulting, video games, film).
Searching for "sympathy crunch" in 2024 does not return many hits.
Milez5858 hopes the gaming industry gets organized.
A heated debate in the 2008 thread questioned whether leadership's promise to abolish "sympathy crunch" was kept.
Milez5858 states that EA receives a lot of grief for its employment history.
Milez5858 warns against working at BioWare.
The author found a forum thread about "sympathy crunch" around 2008.
The comments primarily discuss BioWare's main studio in Edmonton.
Milez5858 has several friends who work at BioWare.
Milez5858 states BioWare offers food, free ice cream, and on-site amenities to encourage extra hours without extra pay.
BioWare Pandemic sold for nearly a billion dollars.
Canadian law requires warnings for performance problems before firing.
Milez5858 believes the attitude of avoiding hassle prevents the gaming industry from organizing.
Three of Milez5858's friends were fired in the last year for refusing to work more than 40 hours.
Milez5858's remaining friends at BioWare are from out of country and feel trapped.
Milez5858's friends are unhappy but only admit it behind closed doors due to fear of blacklisting.
Contract employees who "suck" are not fired but have their contracts not renewed.
Hours are definitely a problem at BioWare.
Milez5858 believes the industry's practices are dehumanizing.
Anguirel confirms BioWare and Pandemic were bought by EA.
Anguirel suggests the issues at BioWare started before the EA acquisition.
Anguirel describes a "Cult of Personality" at companies like BioWare, Blizzard, Maxis, id Software, or Ion Storm.
The author learned about "sympathy crunch" from someone at BioWare Austin.
Milez5858 agrees with the "Cult of Personality" assessment.
Milez5858 confirms issues were happening before EA purchased BioWare.
EA had a legendary status for continuous crunch.
Milez5858 states BioWare prefers out-of-country workers because they don't understand Canadian labour laws.
The 2011 blog post suggests playing testing the game and enjoying contributions during a "sympathy crunch."
The "if you don't like it, we can get any number of people to replace you" attitude is common in the industry.
Milez5858 states people think Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk are looking out for them.
Will Wright's presence at Maxis insulated employees from bad working conditions.
Milez5858 suspects conditions will worsen under EA.
Milez5858 claims people forced to leave BioWare are being told to sell their stocks back to the company.
Milez5858 is unsure if forcing stock sales is legal.
Milez5858 claims BioWare fires employees who don't tow the company line.
This "Cult of Personality" can lead to employees being pushed harder than they should be.
A "Cult of Personality" allows companies to get an unlimited supply of new hires due to founders' reputations.
BioWare gives out tickets to events like Oilers games, theatre, or gokarts.
BioWare allows employees to wander away from their desk for an hour for naps, video games, errands, or coffee.
The anonymous commenter states BioWare is notoriously loyal and managers are notoriously wimpy and avoid confrontation.
Getting fired as a full-time employee from BioWare is a rare event.
BioWare employees receive many chances to improve after a bad review.
A 2011 blog post by a former director at BioWare titled "Loving the Crunch" discusses "sympathy crunches."
Many BioWare employees come from around the world or outside Edmonton.
The term "sympathy crunch" refers to being required to be at the office because other teams are "crunching."
In early projects, staff worked 30-40 hour weeks for a year or two, then double hours for the last few months.
In later projects, project managers and producers controlled hours, leading to "death crunch" or "death marches."
Employees started working 50-hour weeks a year or two before ship in later projects.
Closer to release, employee hours scale up, potentially including 9-9 on weekdays, Saturdays, and even Sundays.
Morale gets low when employees think the game is awful and can't be done right.
Management sometimes extends release dates, which is good for the title but hurts morale due to longer work periods.
The original posts were deleted shortly after being posted, replaced with "big scary company vs. li'l ol' me."