The cruel optimism of “good crunch”: How game industry discourses perpetuate unsustainable labor practices

Abstract

The video game industry’s labor practices have become an increasingly common topic of discussion throughout game studies and the gaming community, especially when it comes to “crunch” or periods of intense, extended overtime. Despite this attention, crunch persists, and the industry’s tendency to distinguish externally mandated or excessive crunch from self-directed or scheduled crunch continues to be problematic. This article considers the distinction between “good” and “bad” crunch as a form of cruel optimism, in which the idea of a tolerable crunch actually prevents the game industry from imagining how to produce games without any crunch. Drawing on a critical discourse analysis of industry trade press—specifically Game Developer magazine and Game Developers Conference presentations—this research demonstrates how viewing any form of crunch as acceptable quells potential innovations in video game production and locks developers into an unsustainable cycle. We encourage developers instead to rethink labor practices more expansively.