Former Tripwire CEO says working from home contributed to industry-wide game delays

[midian182]

A hot potato: Generally, there are two big issues where CEOs and pretty much everyone else hold different opinions: working from home and AI. John Gibson, the co-founder and former head of Tripwire Interactive, maker of The Killing Floor series, is one such example. He said that remote work makes people less efficient and creative, and was partly responsible for many game delays since the start of the pandemic.

Gibson is now the owner and founder of Templar Media. The first game it's publishing couldn't be further from the gore-filled horrors of the Killing Floor: an upcoming title called Gate Zero, an adventure game where players travel back in time to explore ancient Judea & Galilee and "experience the Bible firsthand."

In a recent interview with WCCFTech, Gibson spoke about the widespread layoffs and delays that impacted the industry in 2023 and 2024. He says both stem from the pandemic, when studios overhired as demand for home entertainment boomed and working from home became the norm for virtually everyone.

It's no secret that most companies, not just game studios, laid off staff after pandemic-era hiring sprees as demand waned post-Covid-19.

But Gibson's comments on WFH policies are going to cause some arguments. Citing Killing Floor 3, which took five years to make and was released to mixed reviews, he says part of the reason for game delays is remote work.

"While working from home feels great, people are often less efficient and less creative. Some of the greatest ideas in the games I have worked on came from random encounters in the hallway," Gibson said.

"Two people might have different parts of a great idea, chat in the hallway, and create a whole concept for the game."

Gibson added that as part of Templar Media's acquisition of Gate Zero-maker Bible X, the game's core team is relocating to offices in Georgia. He claims that not only will this allow the title to be finished quicker, but it will also result in a more entertaining and fun product for the player.

Also check out: Viral video asks if you'd take a $240,000 office job or $120,000 remote position

The pandemic days when companies promised employees they could work from home permanently feel a long way away. The vast majority of firms have pushed workers to return to the office, often full-time, despite most people saying they would rather quit than go back. The productivity argument, meanwhile, keeps raging, though a majority of employees say they feel more productive at home.

Gibson is no stranger to controversy. He stepped down as Tripwire CEO in late 2021 after stating his support for the Texas Heartbeat Act, which bans abortion after an embryo's heartbeat is detected, except to save the mother's life. The comments led to Chivalry 2-maker Torn Banner Studios, as well as Shipwright Studios, ending their relationships with Tripwire.

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Former Tripwire CEO says working from home contributed to industry-wide game delays

 

[J95qRP7]

I think he means it let people have a better work life balance and not be guilted into brutal crunch time because of poor management choices.

 

[kira setsu]

People are gonna lose their sh*t because their precious wfh is being criticized but the guy does have a point.

wfh does work for certain people, the ones who can stay focused and plan for themselves, but those are also the minority, most are gonna do the bare minimum while doing all sorts of other stuff, the big wfh wave is why I left the IT role I was in and havent gone back, it was annoying as hell dealing with people who were chilling on the beach, vacation homes, had terrible home internet setups(or no internet at all in some cases), trying to track folks down who could be anywhere to fix a vague *** ticket they put in, then spending way too much time fixing said issue because that person knows nothing about their laptop other than the few sites they use every day.

could've been so much faster if I could just walk down the hall or whatever, see problem, fix problem.

I get it, driving to work, riding public transit, traffic or whatever is a pain to deal with, but the bigger picture is that many companies run better when all bodies are on site and issues can get handled quickly, so many people who go into a blind rage defending working from home miss that part.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Well, look t the game output post 2020. Games launching in incomplete states, missing features, half the content of previous games, riddled with game breaking bugs, one note acting, scripts written by unimaginative 3 year olds....

Yeah guys got a point. There was a significant drop in quality for any game that was developed since the lockdowns.

 

[stewi0001]

Let me know when NOT an executive has an opinion on work from home.

 

[James321]

These guys must start the sentence with they would rather have slave labour or AI!

I am sure he is like the other CEO a firm believer of the 996 : 72 Hour week. I mean who cares if you go mad and commit suicide as long as your job gets done and the boss can afford another yacht.

We really need less heartless CEO, bosses, managers, people in the world.

 

[bviktor]

Ah yes, John "Christian Values" Gibson. Thanks for ruining Killing Floor, mate.

https://noobient.com/2020/12/27/what-went-wrong-with-killing-floor-2/

We'll never forget.

 

[JMGuy]

Let me know when NOT an executive has an opinion on work from home.

Sure. I’m not an executive. Here’s my opinion:

Suggesting that people without direct responsibility for capital, risk, or long-term viability are better positioned to decide what’s in a company’s interest only proves why they aren’t in that position in the first place.

Most employees are hired to execute within a framework, not to determine it. WFH was always a temporary response to lockdowns, not a democratic redesign of work. Anyone surprised by that outcome fundamentally misunderstands how businesses function.

This isn’t to say work-life balance doesn’t matter, it does, and we have regulations put in place that acknowledge that reality (the 40-hour work week, overtime pay, etc). But more often than not, WLB is an individual consideration, not a corporate obligation.

Generally, and appropriately, businesses get to define what their own efficiency looks like. Employees can make their case. They can also accept the upper management decision or leave for something that better fits their needs and preferences.

IMHO, nobody who is being recalled back to the office because their employer deems it best for their business is being wronged in any way whatsoever and needs to get over it.

 

[stewi0001]

Sure. I’m not an executive. Here’s my opinion:

Suggesting that people without direct responsibility for capital, risk, or long-term viability are better positioned to decide what’s in a company’s interest only proves why they aren’t in that position in the first place.

Most employees are hired to execute within a framework, not to determine it. WFH was always a temporary response to lockdowns, not a democratic redesign of work. Anyone surprised by that outcome fundamentally misunderstands how businesses function.

This isn’t to say work-life balance doesn’t matter, it does, and we have regulations put in place that acknowledge that reality (the 40-hour work week, overtime pay, etc). But more often than not, WLB is an individual consideration, not a corporate obligation.

Generally, and appropriately, businesses get to define what their own efficiency looks like. Employees can make their case. They can also accept the upper management decision or leave for something that better fits their needs and preferences.

IMHO, nobody who is being recalled back to the office because their employer deems it best for their business is being wronged in any way whatsoever and needs to get over it.

I view the whole ordeal more of a symptom rather than the main issue. That being, being good to your employees. Obviously I can't speak for every business but often time I have seen that stock holders are more important than employees. I have also had jobs where I felt like they actually cared about me and I was more motivated to do my best for them. But that's just me.

 

[JMGuy]

I view the whole ordeal more of a symptom rather than the main issue. That being, being good to your employees. Obviously I can't speak for every business but often time I have seen that stock holders are more important than employees. I have also had jobs where I felt like they actually cared about me and I was more motivated to do my best for them. But that's just me.

100%. Clearly there are bad employers. Sometimes it’s because they’re toxic. I’m mean, there are plenty of toxic employers out there. I think for larger corporations that toxicity is typically more that they’re just overly bureaucratic and screaming at it to change is just relatively futile.

When coupled with the high variability in individual views of what constitutes work-life-balance, it’s not always easy to judge. The different ratings seen on sites like Glassdoor show that experiences at companies varies widely. Someone’s toxic is someone else’s perfect fit.

I just think the online discourse that I’ve read over the past couple years surrounding RTO has been pretty well flattened into one that suggests employees are being somehow mistreated because their employer says remote work is over for them. That, on its own, isn’t something that even remotely rises to the level of “toxic work environment” in my book. Frankly, framing it like that, makes it hard to sympathize at all.

And further, if dropping RTO is a way of shaving off employees that aren’t willing to tow the company line then that seems like an easy win, frankly. That’s just a choice on the employee part. Kind of a win/win in the end—employee doesn’t like the WLB and the company doesn’t think they fit anymore. Shrug.

 

[AnilD]

The hallway idea argument always sounds nice, but it mostly describes a specific kind of office with time to wander and talk. A lot of devs remember open offices as noise, meetings, and interruptions rather than spontaneous creative magic.

 

[ZedRM]

This guy has not a single clue what he's talking about. Mr Gibson needs to crawl back under his rock.

 

[Axeia]

the big wfh wave is why I left the IT role I was in and havent gone back, it was annoying as hell dealing with people who were chilling on the beach, vacation homes, had terrible home internet setups(or no internet at all in some cases), trying to track folks down who could be anywhere to fix a vague *** ticket they put in

Easily fixed by seeing out some conditions? If you're less productive you get paid less or are fired.
If you have crap internet you have to come in until you get your internet fixed or move somewhere with better internet.
If you're chilling on the beach whilst claiming work hours, fired.

Seems like the company is at fault for letting people get away with it. Working from home for a lot of times is fine imo. I'm more productive when I don't need to make an annoying 1hr commute twice a day. But if I got X amount of work done in the office and at home I'm demonstratively say 30% less effective if expect a pay cut or be required to come in.
If you can get away with cooking on the beach whilst claiming to be working and it takes IT support to figure that out imo that person and their manager both need to be fired as neither seems to do anything.