MachineGames asking more staff to move to full-time office work

Indiana Jones and Wolfenstein developer MachineGames is “moving more and more” to working in the office full-time, studio director Jerk Gustafsson has told GamesIndustry.biz, having already insisted senior staff be in the office five days a week.

“From my point of view, and from MachineGames’ view, we see ourselves as an in-office studio, because we know that we are a lot more efficient and a lot more collaborative in general when we’re actually in the office together,” he said. “It is an improvement in how we operate.” The approach is one reason why the company has just opened a new office in northern Sweden, to support team members in that area.

His comments follow widespread criticism of Ubisoft’s announcement that it is asking all staff to return to the office full-time, as part of its ongoing restructuring. Gustafsson did not comment on that policy, but said the requirement was often less demanding in Sweden as many employees live within a shorter commuting distance compared to countries like the United States. Return-to-office policies of varying strictness have previously been enacted at EA, Rockstar, and Two Point Studios.

Gustafsson said being in the office supported MachineGames’ flat structure and policy of cross-disciplinary conversation, “fostering a culture of dialogue and discussions” that “helped us build stronger games, where everybody feels that they don’t have to worry about coming with ideas or giving feedback.”

“I think that type of culture is very important for us,” he said. “And if we are together, face-to-face, it’s a lot easier to handle that instead of working isolated from your own home.” The studio’s approach stands in contrast to PowerWash Simulator dev FuturLab, whose CEO Kirsty Rigden recently told GamesIndustry.biz that she would “never” ask staff to return to the office full-time, while admitting that remote work made it “really hard to make people feel constantly connected.”

MachineGames keynoted Develop:Brighton last year, with design director Jens Andersson discussing the game’s development. The studio has not confirmed its next project.

You can read our full interview with Jerk Gustafsson on the site shortly.