This Is How They Get Away With It:" Former NetherRealm Studios Contract Devs Reveal a Troubling Studio Culture

[NeonGroovyGator]

But you know what? Why I'm bothering.

This is TYM, you guys are gonna take any possible bandwagon you can get and over bomb it, even if it's a bandwagon that was already calmed down, like the Towers of Time bandwagon you just opened a couple of days ago. You are so desperate to bash anything related to NRS just to get the sense of power over them, that now you go out of the competitive side of MK and go for bandwagons outside of it. And when someone tells you the truth, you shut him up, not matter what bandwagon it is.

You are taking an article that has basically came just after a drama-full-week regarding MK11 after it turned out that all of the drama is based on nothing (as MK11 is not micro-heavy like people wrongly accused it to be but rather just time-heavy, and that anti-SJW exterminates try to push their agenda at the expense of MK11 from every possible angle), and now that article comes in and try to push even more drama based on the scraps of the heat of previous drama alone, like saying NRS have women-disrespect issues and that Shaun Himmerick is unprofessional.

And you guys just eat it up, and you wanna keep eating it, because you wanna feel good about yourselves. This article is in the exact same vein as the anti-SJW articles and videos about MK11, and you keep eating them all, because you are so hungry for power judgmental rights. Now that NRS have managed to get their balance of their games and the competitive aspect of them to the point that nobody can ignore (and they couldn't be even earlier) now you try to find other ways to bash NRS, because you must get that sense of power at all costs.

And then you wonder why nobody gives a shit about TYM. This is just pathetic and sad, really.

I hope you are happy with yourselves, I'm sure a mod will probably delete this comment, because someone doesn't go with the flow.

I'm out.

I'm sorry, I'll be sure to notify all the abused employers that they will need to wait until a relatively calm season for NRS (one year into the game is enough, sir?) to speak out about the toxic environment they provide to their workers. It's a shame that the trivial subject of being treated like an inferior species tarnished their reputation during such an important time.

 

[MR.EVL]

Why shouldn't we "eat it up"?
What the hell are you even saying. No one is coming after NRS to take them down. It's about what's right and what's wrong when it comes to the industry and contractors. As a designer, I take these things to heart and mind and the rest is common sense. I absolutley don't want or wish any harm done to NRS. But just like when the game comes out with a few bugs and glitches and then they fix it, they can apply the same method internally and "update" the way they treat their contractors and start a new. It's ok to admit and own up to mistakes to be able to ACTUALLY move on.

But you know what? Why I'm bothering.

This is TYM, you guys are gonna take any possible bandwagon you can get and over bomb it, even if it's a bandwagon that was already calmed down, like the Towers of Time bandwagon you just opened a couple of days ago. You are so desperate to bash anything related to NRS just to get the sense of power over them, that now you go out of the competitive side of MK and go for bandwagons outside of it. And when someone tells you the truth, you shut him up, not matter what bandwagon it is.

You are taking an article that has basically came just after a drama-full-week regarding MK11 after it turned out that all of the drama is based on nothing (as MK11 is not micro-heavy like people wrongly accused it to be but rather just time-heavy, and that anti-SJW exterminates try to push their agenda at the expense of MK11 from every possible angle), and now that article comes in and try to push even more drama based on the scraps of the heat of previous drama alone, like saying NRS have women-disrespect issues and that Shaun Himmerick is unprofessional.

And you guys just eat it up, and you wanna keep eating it, because you wanna feel good about yourselves. This article is in the exact same vein as the anti-SJW articles and videos about MK11, and you keep eating them all, because you are so hungry for power judgmental rights. Now that NRS have managed to get their balance of their games and the competitive aspect of them to the point that nobody can ignore (and they couldn't be even earlier) now you try to find other ways to bash NRS, because you must get that sense of power at all costs.

And then you wonder why nobody gives a shit about TYM. This is just pathetic and sad, really.

I hope you are happy with yourselves, I'm sure a mod will probably delete this comment, because someone doesn't go with the flow.

I'm out.

 

[HGTV Soapboxfan]

Okay... so we're hearing this all very one-sided.

Hell, my workplace gets very stressful too... that usually means you're busy and have lots to accomplish, etc.

Regarding the leaks... when that full screen roster leak happened for MK9... it was even awkward from my point of view behind my PC...

The leaks suck. The best non-leaked character surprise was definitely TMNT for INJ2.

To be fair, it has now been a number of days of these articles and tweets coming out and despite being contacted to comment still nothing from NRS/WB. That is pretty concerning.

 

[Gamer68]

Tons of overtime, minimum wage, lies/false hope, harassment, etc, and apparently this is okay "and those NRS devs should be happy they had work"

It's weird how we have people trying to justify this make it out like we are bad for making some comments about this. I don't even think anyone has suggested in boycotting NRS or anything, we are just saying this behavior sucks and should be improved. It's okay for wanting better and safer work places, stop being an asshole.

Maybe the accusations against NRS are false. I hope so. But even then, there's the entire gaming industry having this problem so it's still worth talking about it, in my opinion.

 

[Zoidberg747]

I work for a contractor and that’s a load of crap (at least in Canada). Besides they literally said they were playing faves because they wanted a job there. This is issue is 50/50 here both on people who let compagnies mistreat them just to have a chance at working there and it’s also the fault of compagnies for letting this stuff go on and for the shit salary.

NRS is in the U.S. so you working in Canada is irrelevant my guy.

More like, some people have lived through this shit themselves and know better than others what it's like. The fact so many of you seem surprised about this or think it's isolated to the gaming industry just shows how little life experience you have.

I started as a contractor in the company im working at now. This is in logistics. The pay was shit, the responsibilities too much for our paygrade and during the busy periods..oh boy.

I CHOSE to stay there under those conditions for 2,5 years and it paid off. I have been an FTE for almost a year now with a recent bump in position and pay, and more opportunities coming my way.

I could have left and complained. Would have stirred up a nice shit storm. But I would rather roll with the hits for a while and end up on top.

Does any of this mean contractors are not treated badly, or that it's not wrong? Of course not. But if you want something you need to fight for it and make sacrifices, and even then you might not get it. That's just part of life.

Sure, but the whole point of the article is they don't end up hiring many (or any) of the contractors. It is not in NRS best interest to hire contractors full time because then they have to pay them more, provide benefits etc. Better for them to just work them to the bone and toss them aside. This is especially worse in the gaming industry because so many college graduates are desperate to get into the industry so as soon as you want more they'll just find someone who will accept less.

I agree with others that people should just stop accepting these shit jobs and find any other industry than the gaming industry. But that doesn't give a pass for NRS treating contractors like shit, especially when they love to post about how they are all "one big family" and BS like that. We can criticize NRS and still tell people not to work for them.

 

[juicepouch]

I think you just smelled articles like this too much that you can't see through them anymore, just saying.

NRS are just fine both inside and out, don't believe it.

I'm too busy in life to troll the internet and go out of my way to search for this stuff. It comes up repeatedly and there's probably a good reason for it.

 

[Vslayer]

NRS is in the U.S. so you working in Canada is irrelevant my guy.



Sure, but the whole point of the article is they don't end up hiring many (or any) of the contractors. It is not in NRS best interest to hire contractors full time because then they have to pay them more, provide benefits etc. Better for them to just work them to the bone and toss them aside. This is especially worse in the gaming industry because so many college graduates are desperate to get into the industry so as soon as you want more they'll just find someone who will accept less.

I agree with others that people should just stop accepting these shit jobs and find any other industry than the gaming industry. But that doesn't give a pass for NRS treating contractors like shit, especially when they love to post about how they are all "one big family" and BS like that. We can criticize NRS and still tell people not to work for them.

Not a guy, my dude. Still is 50/50 responsibility.

 

[Xelz]

Not a guy, buddy. Still is 50/50 responsibility.

Fixed

 

[Samsara]

"I know you all feel you're being treated unfairly, but we're only 50% responsible for our own standards here despite being your employer."

Ok.

 

[Zoidberg747]

I'm too busy in life to troll the internet and go out of my way to search for this stuff. It comes up repeatedly and there's probably a good reason for it.

A quick glance at Glassdoor and indeed reviews shows this isn't out of nowhere. They say the same thing, and these are coming from guys who are now FTEs (these go back as far as 2014:

Working at NetherRealm Studios: Employee Reviews | Indeed.com

Reviews from NetherRealm Studios employees about NetherRealm Studios culture, salaries, benefits, work-life balance, management, job security, and more.

www.indeed.com

NetherRealm Reviews

16 NetherRealm reviews. A free inside look at company reviews and salaries posted anonymously by employees.

www.glassdoor.com

Some Relevant Quotes:
"$12/hour for associate artists Associate employees strung along from contract to contract for years with no benefits Too much crunch"

"Being paid $12/hour for Master's Degree-level software engineering is pretty absurd, even in the video game industry. Yeah, I knew what I was getting into, but I'd strongly hesitate to put anyone else through it."

"Crazy crunch hours for a genre (fighting games) that shouldn't have crunch if other departments would just work harder and get tasks done on time during the normal development cycle. -Getting promoted is near to impossible. It's better to come into this studio as a Senior or Lead instead of coming in as an Associate and trying to make your way up to Senior or Lead positions. They drag their feet with promotions. Stop abusing the QA contractors that love fighting games "

"weak pay, no benefits, few perks, no sense of camaraderie."

Edit: And before someone hits me with the "only disgruntled employees use those sites", some of these quotes are taken from 4 and 5 star reviews. Even the full time employees who like it there realize that they abuse contractors.

"A lot of the studio is very low wage short term contractors that are producing work well beyond their pay scale. "

 

[SUPAHJD]

Yeah, this is just sad. Even more pitiful they don't answer it. As much as I hate to say it, this needs spread around.

I already had an off feeling with NRS and greed. But I always just thought this was my self righteous conspiracy theorist self going at it.

Now? It's blatantly in our faces. They are greedy. And so much for being "woke".

 

[Kratilim]

To be honest, hiring contractors just for a project and letting them go after the project is done is common practice witthin the games industry. I work as a vfx artist at a large games studio, and a lot of guys here are on contract until the project is done. Its rare for ppl to get permanent contracts after thr project is done. So that part of the story isn't to weird actually.

 

[xXRagingFlameXx]

Reading this hurts my heart.

I thought NRS was the best of the best. Above all of that stuff. I guess you can't let admiration (or nostalgia?) blind you to the truth. It sucks thinking that people are being treated like this. Whenever Tyler Lansdown, Derek Kirtzic, or 16bit are on the Kombat Kasts they make it seem like it's just 24/7 fun. Everyone's doing their job, but they're all having fun and loving every second of it. That's definitely not the case for everyone. I hope that this spreads and it pushes them to change how they handle stuff. And I hope that if they do release a statement, that it isn't just some BS stuff, it should be genuine.

And to think I wanted to work there more than anything.

 

[NothingPersonal]

I kinda see why leaks happened. Some people were mad as hell ȘD

 

[feedyourcatbro]

To be fair, it has now been a number of days of these articles and tweets coming out and despite being contacted to comment still nothing from NRS/WB. That is pretty concerning.

Also no one currently working at NRS or who needs a recommendation from a mid level manager at NRS/WB is going to speak out either. Before someone comes along with "hurr workplace retaliation/harassment/wrongful termination laws", at-will employment is still a VERY risky business when it comes to a non-unionized job, especially when the market is very good for employers. Crunch is super common, I'm willing to bet every non-indie studio does it. From what we're hearing, Epic has some of the worst and no one talked about it for so damn long. It's not surprising at all that many of these stories get covered up or simply won't surface for a long time.

 

[Xelz]

Reading this hurts my heart.

I thought NRS was the best of the best. Above all of that stuff. I guess you can't let admiration (or nostalgia?) blind you to the truth. It sucks thinking that people are being treated like this. Whenever Tyler Lansdown, Derek Kirtzic, or 16bit are on the Kombat Kasts they make it seem like it's just 24/7 fun. Everyone's doing their job, but they're all having fun and loving every second of it. That's definitely not the case for everyone. I hope that this spreads and it pushes them to change how they handle stuff. And I hope that if they do release a statement, that it isn't just some BS stuff, it should be genuine.

And to think I wanted to work there more than anything.

For better or worse, NRS might still be among the “best.” This problem is prevalent throughout the industry. One of my friends worked at a fan favorite and darling of the industry developer (one that is still lauded and celebrated by the very same news outlets that are deriding NRS and Rockstar) as a QA analyst and experienced the exact same problems there. He joined because it was a dream job, and left because it was actually a low paying slog with horrible crunch and no career progression.

I don’t feel sorry for NRS, but I do wonder why they and a handful of others are being made an example of while the press is letting the same thing slide with other developers.

 

[Error404]

At the end of the day , if people are willing to work in those conditions , the conditions will never improve. Simple as that.

That being said , the entire industry is total garbage . Everybody except the publisher is getting shafted on a regular basis .Including the customers. That is pretty much why I only buy my FGs at launch . Everything else I get second hand.

 

[SinkFla]

Then they should not freaking accept the job. It is 50/50

With all due respect dude this is entering "Well if she hadn't worn the skimpy clothes and left the bar at 2am she would not have been raped!" territory.

Sad thing is this is like every job I've ever had in Florida. You're just another cog in a machine and frequently reminded whenever you ask for respectable pay/treatment that you're replaceable. If all this stuff is true then a lot of people probably won't work there now. It's easier to not work somewhere knowing this before going in than it is to leave a job after the fact. People grin and bear it thinking it's the only way to progress, and think of leaving as throwing away a career or wasting away the hard work and time they've put into it; which is exactly the same way it works on any other victim of abuse even in a PERSONAL relationship.

 

[Edmund]

It doesn’t matter if it is “just how it is” or “every company does it.” The fact of the matter is that it IS HAPPENING and we are directly supporting it by supporting the Studio. I’m not saying throw away mk11 and burn down NRS, but I am saying put the heat on Boon and everyone else and make them change. Sitting back and letting them do this makes us cogs in the machine.

 

[Vslayer]

With all due respect dude this is entering "Well if she hadn't worn the skimpy clothes and left the bar at 2am she would not have been raped!" territory.

Sad thing is this is like every job I've ever had in Florida. You're just another cog in a machine and frequently reminded whenever you ask for respectable pay/treatment that you're replaceable. If all this stuff is true then a lot of people probably won't work there now. It's easier to not work somewhere knowing this before going in than it is to leave a job after the fact. People grin and bear it thinking it's the only way to progress, and think of leaving as throwing away a career or wasting away the hard work and time they've put into it; which is exactly the same way it works on any other victim of abuse even in a PERSONAL relationship.

I love when men bring up this skirt and sexual assault issue without understanding it fully, especially when it has nothing to do with what we're currently talking about. You quoted the last post I wrote, without looking at the others where I clearly said the pay is BS, but they knew this going in and honestly, they wanted to endure the shit salary just to get a chance to work for NRS. That's how it is for every contractor out there who wants a position at the company they're contracted at. So yeah it's still 50/50.

 

[Slips]

As a former contractor for QA at NRS, I find this fascinating how much attention this is getting.

I can only speak towards the QA Department since that's what I was hired for. To be fair to NRS, they have hired some quality people from the QA Department. 16 Bit, SauceyJack and Tyler Lansdown just to name a few. There are a lot of contractors that are just not good at the job whether they were lazy, uninspired, or self-entitled and that hurts the notion of hiring a QA Analysis on permanently. I will say though, being QA at NRS felt like you were at the bottom of the barrel it took a lot to start changing the opinions of how useful QA could be for them.

I thought I did a good job while working there. Over 500 bugs logged during my contract. Help choreographing the Injustice: Gods Among Us Battle Arena Series pre-release vids. And provided vital feedback on balance changes to keep the game alive competitively.

I did feel that the designers and my colleagues in QA had a lot of gratitude for the work I had put in. It felt like they really did want to give me a permanent position. Ultimately though, it felt like it was out of their hands and they didn't have enough clout to convince the Big Wigs to hire me on permanently. I like to think if I could've stuck it out I might've made it on board. But in between contracts was brutal, which consisted of living on unemployment/working other low-paying QA jobs, unable to support myself, mounting debt, all with no health benefits. Just seemed too risky and treacherous for a guy in his mid 30's. Developing kidney stones (likely due to stress) and getting a job offer from my former employee back home with a relocation incentive were really the final straws to cause me to leave.

I like to tell myself me leaving helped raise concern about NRS letting go of quality QA employees, but who knows. 16 Bit still didn't get hired on permanently until after MKX and it didn't sound like they just handed it to him. Since then though things sound like they've changed for the better.

That all being said, it's probably the funnest job I ever had and if they offered me a permanent position today I'd strongly consider it lol.

I'm not sure what the solution is. There's a lot more to it than NRS and other devs just being assholes. Like anything, it comes down to $$$. In between games there is a big drop-off in working hours and to keep likely hundreds employees sitting around who have nothing to do for months at a time is economically silly. Hence all the contract work. And to get noticed during your contract work you have to put in the effort and the hours to get noticed. It's complicated folks.

 

[kabelfritz]

I'm not sure what the solution is. There's a lot more to it than NRS and other devs just being assholes. Like anything, it comes down to $$$. In between games there is a big drop-off in working hours and to keep likely hundreds employees sitting around who have nothing to do for months at a time is economically silly. Hence all the contract work. And to get noticed during your contract work you have to put in the effort and the hours to get noticed. It's complicated folks.

this leads me to the question: how can this happen in a two year release cycle? youd think they'd have an overview about whats to be done and distribute the work equally instead of having phases of drop-off and then crunch?

 

[Name v.5.0]

I understand the hours. I understand designated breaks and lunches. I understand contractors not getting a full time position. What I don't understand is the pay, or the harassment. They could at the very least pay these guys $16 per hour, if not more. And can we please just treat other human beings like you want to be treated? Not a hard concept.

 

[ZeroSymbolic]

Sounds like a bunch of entitled people who haven’t ever done a real hard days work. When did we become such a fragile society? It’s gotten ridiculous. The timing also makes me think this is a stunt. Game was in development for over a year, but this just happens to come out shortly after release?

“I smell something... bullshit!” -Sonya Blade

 

[MK2D]

This is so upsetting to read... are gaming companies not unionized?

What’s sad is that human beings are shitty enough that there needs to even be a such thing as unions, which often wind up being the opposite side of the same pathetic coin that people try taking advantage of.