Report Alleges Crunch Culture At Ubisoft Paris, Including 13-Hour Days

Ubisoft Paris, the developer of the Just Dance series has reportedly suffered from crunch culture, a new report states. The report comes from NME, and includes an investigation into the French developer, with quotes from anonymous developers at Ubisoft.

According to Ubisoft developers, the engine for Just Dance 2023 had to be changed 11 months before the game shipped. This caused tremendous difficulties internally as employees attempted to learn the new engine. A source said that certain team members were able to “learn quickly,” which caused management to “add more and more features,” resulting in a larger workload. Ubisoft apparently still hadn’t decided on a production engine nine months before the production cycle was over.

Overtime became the norm during Just Dance 2023’s production, as indicated by the Ubisoft source. “During daily meetings, some employees were explicitly encouraged to work overtime,” the developer said. This developer says they worked 13-hour shifts, with QA testers often working upwards of 15-hour days. Some employees reportedly worked even longer.

Developers also called the game’s pre-production a “mess,” as management would force ideas “that had to be considered at all costs.”

“Once the creative vision is clear it is presented to technical experts and often ‘impossible’ to achieve,” said a source. “Either they have no choice but to achieve the impossible, or we are forced to change everything. This is morally and physically exhausting for the employees.”

Developers apparently wanted to delay Just Dance 2023, but management declined, emphasizing a need to get the game out by Christmas.

A source said that to their knowledge, “every project at Ubi Paris [is] affected by crunch culture.”

Ubisoft declined to comment on the report when asked by GameSpot.

Ubisoft Paris, the developer of the Just Dance series has reportedly suffered from crunch culture, a new report states. The report comes from NME, and includes an investigation into the French developer, with quotes from anonymous developers at Ubisoft.

According to Ubisoft developers, the engine for Just Dance 2023 had to be changed 11 months before the game shipped. This caused tremendous difficulties internally as employees attempted to learn the new engine. A source said that certain team members were able to “learn quickly,” which caused management to “add more and more features,” resulting in a larger workload. Ubisoft apparently still hadn’t decided on a production engine nine months before the production cycle was over.

Overtime became the norm during Just Dance 2023’s production, as indicated by the Ubisoft source. “During daily meetings, some employees were explicitly encouraged to work overtime,” the developer said. This developer says they worked 13-hour shifts, with QA testers often working upwards of 15-hour days. Some employees reportedly worked even longer.

Developers also called the game’s pre-production a “mess,” as management would force ideas “that had to be considered at all costs.”

“Once the creative vision is clear it is presented to technical experts and often ‘impossible’ to achieve,” said a source. “Either they have no choice but to achieve the impossible, or we are forced to change everything. This is morally and physically exhausting for the employees.”

Developers apparently wanted to delay Just Dance 2023, but management declined, emphasizing a need to get the game out by Christmas.

A source said that to their knowledge, “every project at Ubi Paris [is] affected by crunch culture.”

Ubisoft declined to comment on the report when asked by GameSpot.