Remote Work Policies for Game Studios: HR Cheat Sheet

Creating remote work policies for game studios is more crucial now than ever. With the return-to-office trends gaining momentum, having these policies operate efficiently can serve as a strong argument for maintaining flexible arrangements. Having been in the games industry for nearly a decade as a fully remote company, we’d like to share some guidelines from our HR Manager, Claudia Diana Vaidos. With her experience in career and development teams at well-known game studios, Claudia has gathered practical insights to help navigate remote work effectively.

The 2020-2022 Surge in Remote Work

Game development has always been a highly collaborative on-site process. Teams of QAs, designers, artists, programmers, and producers would work side by side to bring a game to life. Myself, I used to work in the internal HR department, fully on-site in a AAA studio. During the iterative process of making a game, this creative energy could be seen flowing through the studio. And then, 2020 happened.

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, we didn’t know what to expect. Suddenly, everything was closed or shut down, impacting all aspects of the world, including the working environment. As we needed to adapt to the new normal, remote work became a transformative experience across many industries, including gamedev. All types of studios, whether small indie developers or large AAA companies, needed to implement remote work policies that addressed the challenges and opportunities of the gaming industry. The ultimate goal for us became to make it efficient.

2023-2025 Perspectives and the RTO Policies

Our industry was one of the very few that actually did well throughout the pandemic, money-wise. Yet, it all takes a toll now. Since 2023, we’ve witnessed mass layoffs on an unprecedented scale. Probably with all that in mind, some game studios are trying to return to the “old normal”. In many cases they try to embrace a hybrid approach – mixing remote work with on-site. It rarely makes the employees excited, to say the least.

Blizzard Entertainment mandated a three-day-a-week return-to-office policy, leading to notable talent loss. Employees and players expressed dissatisfaction and concerns about its impact on World of Warcraft and Diablo 4. Seeing this, other studios may now be on the fence – wanting to keep remote work but hoping to make it more efficient in a measurable way.

So here’s the latest challenge – to create policies that maximize the benefits of remote work while also fostering team spirit on-site.

My professional background in the gaming industry includes working as an internal HR for a AAA game studio and currently as an HR manager at 8Bit, so I have experience in both physical office environments and remote work settings. With this experience, I can provide some guidelines on best practices for creating flexible yet productive remote work policies.

Remote Work Policies to Try Out

1. Clear Communications Channels and Protocols

It is easy to communicate in a physical office, but when it comes to avoiding these breakdowns, it is important to standardize tools of communication. Whether we are using Slack or Teams for messaging, Google Meet or Zoom for calls, Sheets, Jira or Notion for project management, it’s worth sending a short survey to the team every year to check if these tools still work well for them.

A daily virtual stand-up can also be an effective way to make sure that everyone is aligned. It should take around 10-15 minutes (don’t feel tempted to make it half an hour long!) as the goal is to keep it focused. The lead is initiating the meeting and each team member shares what they accomplished yesterday, what they are working on today and what blockers they faced. In this way, you can ensure that everyone is on the same page.

2. Flexible Working Hours

Be flexible. Be aware of the fact that each of your team members may be in a different time zone or can have a different set up for work. Policies should allow team members to synchronize work regardless of their location.

Establish core hours where all team members are expected to be available, while still allowing flexibility outside of those hours. In our recruitment agency 8Bit, where we work fully remotely, we’ve introduced the following core hours: 10 am – 2 pm for those in CET and 11 am – 3 pm for those in EST. This approach allows us the flexibility to run errands or create our own schedules, while also ensuring we have dedicated hours for real-time collaboration.

3. Don’t Forget About Security

You don’t want to leak information about an unannounced project, so make sure everyone is using company-approved VPNs and encrypted connections to protect sensitive data.

4. Remote Well-Being

A happy team is a successful team. Introducing remote work policies for game studios cannot needs to focus on the well-being too. The invisible pressure of being constantly available and the isolation of remote work can lead to burnout, especially in a creative environment like game development. Consider implementing virtual coffee breaks or even a happy hour where team members can play games or discuss topics that reinforce the importance of collaboration.

For example, at 8Bit, we have a one-hour slot every Thursday called Happy Thursday, where we play a game together (because we’re not only hiring gamedevs, we love gaming in general!). The goal is to ensure that HT remains a fun and relaxing way to spend time with our team. Part of the enjoyment is seeing each other and spending time together during our busy workdays. A fun fact: when we first started HT three years ago, we always played Among Us, but in the following years, Codenames became our favorite game.

5. Progress Tracking

While you trust your employees to get the work done, it’s also important to provide visibility into each team member’s progress, helping everyone stay accountable and on track. When I was working as an internal HR in a gaming studio, we used Trello – a Kanban-style tool that helps track tasks and projects through customizable boards, lists, and cards – to maintain visibility across the entire HR team. Other recommended tools include Notion, Asana, or even Jira.

6. Hybrid Options

Offer team members the flexibility to choose which days they work on-site and which days they work from home, helping them maintain a healthy work-life balance. Ideally, when selecting on-site days, team members should consider when others will be in the office as well, so they don’t end up commuting for an hour or more just to be alone in the office. Proposing a specific day for the whole team to meet on-site could be beneficial. Remember, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, but with the right mix of communication and collaboration, even in a hybrid or remote environment, a team can thrive.

The shift to remote work has opened up new opportunities in gamedev. Remote work policies for game studios can lead to a better work-life balance, offering more flexibility and fostering fresh perspectives and creative ideas. However, the transition isn’t without its challenges. Game development still is and will always be a highly collaborative process, so finding the right balance will be essential. The studios that succeed in remote environment are those that embrace flexibility, prioritize communication, and focus on the well-being of their employees. Good luck!