Fortnite developer Epic Games confirmed this weekend it can transition most of its US-based contingent staff to full-time positions with advantages. The information comes after The Verge obtained an inside memo detailing the corporate’s plans. Epic spokesperson Elka Looks mentioned the studio plans to rent “a few hundred” present contractors, and that the majority of these staff at the moment function high quality assurance testers. Epic will instantly make use of these people they usually’ll have entry to the corporate’s advantages plan.
Looks additionally famous the corporate will nonetheless rent contingent staff to fill “short-term needs,” and the memo The Verge obtained mentioned Epic wouldn’t lengthen the full-time employment provide to some staff. “There are a few exceptions in which it makes sense for both the worker and Epic to maintain contingent worker status,” the doc mentioned, based on the outlet.
Epic’s choice to transform lots of its QA testers to full-time workers comes at a second when staff in related positions at Activision Blizzard’s Raven Software work to unionize. In December, the studio laid off a dozen QA testers, resulting in a walkout involving each full-time workers and contractors. Last month, these staff mentioned they’d unionize with the Communication Workers of America, and requested the troubled writer to voluntarily acknowledge their group. Activision didn’t try this and as a substitute moved to reorganize the studio in a approach that critics of the corporate declare is designed to thwart these efforts.