Maja Muldenhauer, studio manager in the back Cuphead DLC recently spoke of the company’s number one priority being making sure its employees are healthy and treated well. In fact, Moldenhauer made it clear that she doesn’t even care about delays.
In an interview with IGN Posted yesterdayMoldenhauer has spoken candidly about how little she cares about delays or how long it takes to finish a game or piece of DLC. For example, Cuphead’s upcoming downloadable content, Delicious last courseIt was first announced in 2018 with a 2019 release date. But this will be delayed several times to avoid the crisis And then because of covid.
However, Moldenhauer explained to IGN She doesn’t mind the long delay because “mental health should be at the fore” of the studio’s priorities.
“The number one thing, especially through COVID is to make everyone happy,” Moldenhauer told IGN. “These are video games. Take your time. Mental health should be on top, and take the space and time that you need, especially over the past two years.”
“We’re like, ‘If the game takes longer to come out, it takes longer. who cares?'”
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You might think that a company that treats people with respect and concern for their mental health should be expected and not celebrated, but in the current world we live in, such stories are embarrassingly rare.
if you read Kotaku or other gaming sites, You probably already know the stories And the Reports of atrocious work practicesAnd the months of crisisAnd the Tons of fatigue in the video game industry. It’s so common that when a studio head talks candidly about paying attention to employees’ mental health and well-being, even if it means delaying a game or DLC to treat people better, it can seem like a strange (but nice) anomaly. One that deserves some attention, I think.
According to Moldenhauer, this position in Cuphead The studio is the result of the small team’s history, jobs, past experiences, and desire to do better.
“If we were to risk everything, it would be a company we could be proud of,” Moldenhauer said.
“It will be an all things company, an amalgamation of all the things we have always been […] wanted. Respect each other, love and support. Things we didn’t get in our previous jobs. Well, we did, but at the end of the day there was a bottom line.”
In addition to the employee first mentality and the desire to create better working conditions, Cuphead’s The director isn’t worried about how well the new, upcoming, and long-awaited DLC will sell or if it’s making any money. Instead, just getting that great piece of art and sharing it with the world, and doing it in a way that doesn’t lead to burnout or crisis, is all the reward they need.
Cuphead’s The long awaited and delayed DLC, Delicious last courseAnd the It will be released on June 30th.
