Dying Light 2 developer Techland has requested that the majority of staff – including employees who work abroad – come into the office full-time or commit to a “hybrid” model.
The studio says it needs people to come into the office “regularly to foster stronger connections”.
According to Polish site CD-Action, “regularly” equates to eight working days every two months. The outlet also alleges that line managers were given less than 24 hours notice to cascade the news to their direct reports.
Other CD-Action sources claim the studio’s current offices are not large enough to accommodate much more than ten percent of its 500 headcount. It’s thought around half of those developers had, up until this point, work remotely.
“While remote work remains an option, we’re transitioning most roles to either an on-site or hybrid model,” Techland told our sister site, GamesIndustry.biz.
“Employees who live near our offices will be asked to work from the office three days a week. For those working remotely from abroad, we’re asking them to come to the office regularly to foster stronger connections.
“We understand this is a big change and all employees can still request home office days on demand as needed. We’ve just started this process and it’s our goal to make the transition as smooth as possible and to support everyone individually.”
Last year, Dying Light developer Techland announced a partnership with Tencent, which has become a majority shareholder.
Techland’s CEO Paweł Marchewka said this partnership would allow the team to “move full speed ahead with the execution of the vision for [its] games”, calling Tencent an “ally who has already partnered with some of the world’s finest video game companies and helped them reach new heights while respecting their ways of doing things”.
Techland retains full ownership of its IPs and maintains its “creative freedom”.