Bandai Namco is currently riding on a high with the successful release of Elden Ring, but the Japanese staff of the studio are in for some great news come April.
According to IGN, Bandai Namco Entertainment has promised a pay increase for its staff next month of an additional 50,000 yen. They write in a press release:
“Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. will increase the ratio of basic salary to annual income from April 2022, with the aim of improving working conditions by stabilizing employee income. We will introduce a new compensation system that raises the basic salary by an average of 50,000 yen per month for all employees. In addition, the starting salary will be raised from the previous 232,000 yen per month to 290,000 yen per month.”
Take note that 50,000 yen is the average raise that employees will be getting. Each staff member is set to get a different amount based on Bandai’s new payment model, which will allow staff members to be more pro-active in choosing their work schedule.
This should be a good step for the gaming industry, seeing that there have been reports of employee abuse over the last few years. NetherRealm Studios has been outed for using crunch culture in their games, and recently CD Projekt Red had been accused of crunch when it came to the release of Cyberpunk 2077—ironic for a game about fighting against corporate greed.
For now, Bandai Namco’s Elden Ring is now playable for PlayStation 4|5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
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