Back to collectionA Hiring Freeze Forces a Careful Handoff
Background: The studio had just set a third-quarter goal of “staying alive and getting the gameplay right,” but could not rely on new hires to divide up the work. Today: Progress was steady, and the team decided to keep filling gaps through internal transfers. Impact and next steps: Internal transfers let the studio fill gaps without expanding the team, while making the shortage of staff a matter for task-by-task negotiation.
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Background: The studio had just set a third-quarter goal of “staying alive and getting the gameplay right,” but could not rely on new hires to divide up the work. Hiring had been frozen for two full months, so the existing staff had to be reassigned between daily operations and improving gameplay.
Today: Progress was steady, and the team decided to keep filling gaps through internal transfers. During a handoff discussion, the production team wanted help with gameplay issues players kept raising. Operations worried that moving someone who knew the community would leave season feedback unanswered. Both sides first listed work that could not stop, then discussed who might take on particular tasks for a time.
Impact and next steps: Internal transfers let the studio fill gaps without expanding the team, while making the shortage of staff a matter for task-by-task negotiation. The next test was whether player questions would still get answers after the handoff and whether gameplay work would actually move forward. Assignments would need adjustment as the work continued.