#172: Anti-Crunch

Square Enix-owned studio Eidos is running a little experiment on behalf of the industry-at-large: Its teams are now working four days a week, for 32 hours, with Fridays off. In a line of work absolutely demanding of your time, that a AAA publisher and well-respected studio are taking the initiative to do things differently is an awesome sign, though it's unclear if such a life/work balance is even possible if you want to create truly great games. Naturally, we discuss. Also: Sony has quietly poached the Head of Content of Apple Arcade, Ryu Ga Gotoku simultaneously loses its director and producer, EA and FIFA are fighting over the future of Electronic Arts' most important franchise, and much more. Then, listener inquiries! Are we as perplexed by Ubisoft's recent decisions as many of our audience members? What do we expect out of Returnal's rumored upcoming update? Did Crystal Dynamics lie to its audience by unleashing pay-to-win schemes in The Avengers? Will the boys ever cease quarreling about the efficacy of bidets?

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