Respawn Entertainment’s COO says that it’s actually great working for EA.
EA is known universally as the “bad guy” of the gaming industry. One of the largest game publishers in the world, EA achieved their legendary status as video gaming’s villain by gobbling up and spitting out over a dozen studios, many of them much-beloved by fans.
We’ve basically just come to expect the worst from EA, from forcing unreasonable deadlines on studios to mandating horrible crunch-style work conditions. But something weird is going on with EA lately. They’re actually being… kinda nice.
At least according to Respawn COO Dusty Welch. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Welch said that the Apex Legends developer is quite happy with their arrangement with EA and had only glowing words for their corporate overlord.
“I’ve never run a franchise before where there’s been so little or no pressure from the publisher or from corporate or my partner about the monetization or the revenue,” he said, adding that EA allows Respawn to develop Apex Legends any way they want and on their own schedule.
“There’s obviously a balance between monetization and doing things the right way and the health of the team. And I love that EA and their leadership team understand that balance and what’s important for Respawn. They allow us to make the decisions and the calls that are best for our company and our team, and also consideration for the IP and our player base.”
Respawn is in the process of opening a brand new Vancouver-based studio specifically to continue developing Apex Legends. They’re making something else too, but we know that it’s not another Titanfall game.
Source: GameIndustry.biz
