Team17 staff allege poor working conditions after "monumentally stupid" NFT scandal Rock Paper Shotgun Support us Join our newsletter Visit our store Sign in / Create account If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Team17 staff allege poor working conditions after "monumentally stupid" NFT scandal Low pay, ignored harassment, and mismanagement News by Graham Smith Contributor Published on Feb. 10, 2022 20 comments Last week, Team17 announced Worms NFTs and then, amid an enormous backlash from their audience and business partners, cancelled them the following day. Now several staff at the publisher have spoken out about low pay, overwork, and management failures in a new report by Eurogamer. Speaking under condition of anonymity, the staff allege that "the company has recently been shedding team members, as many are fed up by low salaries, long hours, and concerns around HR and upper management." Part of their complaints relate to the company's plans for NFT. Staff say they weren't warned about the announcement before it happened, were left to deal with public harassment during the backlash, and haven't received an apology in the wake of its cancellation. "It was that the managers were doing something so monumentally stupid without a thought for those who would actually bear the brunt of it. They didn't apologise to staff, even the community managers who were subjected to a barrage of abuse because of it," said one. The criticisms of the company extend much further than just this one incident, however. Several employees alleged low pay, particularly among QA staff. "There were people who would have to skip meals to save money, people who would have to go into the office during the pandemic to reduce their bills, people who couldn't afford new clothes, people who got an emergency bill and were in their overdraft. We took it to management, and the second time we took it to HR. Nothing came of it," one person told Eurogamer. There is also criticism of the company's management and HR department, including allegations that HR minimised incidents of sexual harassment, gave perpetrators a slap on the wrist, and told victims to sort it out amongst themselves. While some staff allegedly skipped meals due to low pay and had bonuses cut unexpectedly at the end of 2021, Team17 CEO Debbie Bestwick reportedly made $10.24m (£7.56m) last year. Bestwick was also criticised by staff for singling out employees in meetings to the point that they left the room in tears, as well as for asking staff to wrap family Christmas presents for her. Staff were also frustrated that, in the wake of the NFT backlash, Bestwick expressed "shock" at the response in a Facebook post seen by Eurogamer. "I dare anyone to question my ethics tbh!" Bestwick wrote. "Debbie posts so many things about being a woman in the games industry on Twitter, and yet harassment is going on in her company and people are being told, essentially, it hasn't happened," one woman told Eurogamer, having been inspired to speak out by Bestwick's post. In a statement given to Eurogamer in response to these allegations, a Team17 spokesperson said that the company "takes its responsibilities to its staff extremely seriously." "We constantly review our internal policies and practises and assess how we support our employees through our engagement survey and through direct dialogue with the team, including newly-established employee-led working groups. This encompasses compensation, workplace culture and environment, among other key areas, to continually strive to improve our employee experience. In January, as part of this, we announced new improvements to the way we pay and reward our Teamsters." The full story is worth reading, with many more stories and details than I've pulled out here. More News Jack King-Spooner's next handcrafted game has a teaser demo out Judero brings chat and action in the Scottish Borders Alice O'Connor 17 hours ago 1 If you were hoping for any Overwatch 2 balance changes then you'll have to wait until season two The next season begins in December CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 3 The Dead Space remake will chuck random Necromorphs at you as you wander the Ishimura In space, no one can hear you proper bricking it CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 8 Valve register mysterious new Neon Prime trademark in the US It doesn’t seem to be for a particularly colourful Steam Deck CJ Wheeler 20 hours ago 11 Latest Articles What are we all playing this weekend? Well? Alice O'Connor an hour ago 22 Past Wordle answers Here's an archive of previous Wordle words Ollie Toms 2 hours ago 1 Wordle answer today (Saturday 15 October) Hints and the answer to today's Wordle word Rebecca Jones 9 hours ago Overwatch 2 hero tier list Which are the best heroes in Overwatch 2? Ollie Toms 16 hours ago Supporters Only You're probably better than me at One Many Nobody You go on without… uh, you? Sin Vega 17 hours ago Supporter podcast - The Nate Files episode 13: dry bones Bad science is also FUN science! Alice Bell 18 hours ago Japanese dating show Love Wagon has surprising parallels with Yakuza and Persona My new obsession Ed Thorn 2 days ago If you're hankering after Bayonetta 3, Valkyrie Elysium might be a good substitute It's not out on PC until next month, but the console demo has been a surprise charmer Katharine Castle 1 week ago 4 We've been talking, and we think that you should wear clothes Total coincidence, but we sell some clothes Buy RPS stuff here