Did WFH Hurt the Video Game Industry?

The video game industry was better prepared than most to make the switch to remote work. Even so, researchers found that companies that went remote during the pandemic suffered more delays than those that managed to keep working in offices. Why? Weak ties — or casual relationships — suffered in the pandemic. Looking at data on white-collar workers’ communications, strong ties got stronger and weak one frayed. That, in turn, led to communication breakdowns that made hitting big deadlines or continuing to innovate harder, even as workers were individually productive. In short, this was an institutional failure. So what should companies do? Turning back the clock isn’t an option — companies need to find ways to encourage weak ties while accepting that office culture has fundamentally changed. They should: 1) accept that a one-size-fits-all strategy for remote probably won’t work; 2) consider creating a team to help encourage weak ties and otherwise pursue strategies to help build relationships across the company, 3) acknowledge that worker expectations have changed and try to find a balance between flexibility and face time, and 4) stay nimble and keep evaluating their approach as time goes on.

Of all the industries that rapidly shifted to remote work due to Covid-19, the video game development industry seemed to be particularly well-positioned to continue operating successfully. Video game companies produce almost exclusively digital goods unencumbered by supply chain constraints — any delays they encounter are therefore due mostly to collaboration challenges. Moreover, with much of the world’s population stuck at home, video game purchases themselves exploded — in 2020 the industry grew by more than 20% to $180 billion in revenue.

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