Epic Games will reportedly provide contract workers in the U.S. with full-time jobs and benefits. According to an internal announcement seen by The Verge, the game developer is opening up opportunities to “hundreds” of contracted employees, mostly QA testers, as well as other undisclosed “qualified” positions.
Many of these proposals will take effect from April 4, 2022, the announcement said but revealed that with a few exceptions, it would make sense for employees and Epic to remain in contingent status.
Epic spokesperson Elka Looks confirmed to The Verge that the studio will employ several hundred contract workers, and said most but not all will be available to QA staff. They also confirmed that all employees will be eligible for Epic’s U.S. employee benefits program.
Efforts to improve conditions for QA workers have recently resonated across the industry. In December, a third of the QA team at Activision subsidiary Raven Software was reportedly fired as part of a “studio reorganization.
This led to an organized strike to protest the layoffs, which lasted less than two months and ended after 78% of the company’s eligible QA workers voted to unionize. In January, Raven announced that it would embed QA staff across the studio’s teams.