Monument Valley Developer Shifts Toward Contractors to Cut Budgets, Calling Full-Time Roles Too Romantic
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Ustwo Games CEO Maria Sayans announced that the Monument Valley developer will rely more on contractors and less on full-time staff to lower budgets, calling traditional job security too romantic for modern game development.
The economic reality of game development continues to shift away from traditional studio structures. In a recent interview with Game Developer, Maria Sayans, the CEO of Ustwo Games, explained that ideals like full-time employment and long-term job security are simply too romantic in the current industry climate. To lower development costs for upcoming projects, the studio behind the Monument Valley series plans to rely more heavily on external contractors rather than expanding its permanent internal staff.
This structural pivot highlights a wider trend affecting developers across the mobile, console, and PC sectors. As funding becomes harder to secure and development budgets balloon, studios are constantly looking for ways to protect their bottom lines. Unfortunately, this often translates to shifting financial risk onto the workforce through project-based contract work instead of offering stable careers with standard benefits. While business leaders view this flexibility as necessary for survival, it raises serious concerns for the developers who build the games we play every day.
For players who care about the people behind their favorite titles, this news serves as another reminder of the fragile state of game industry labor. Sustainable creativity requires secure artists, writers, and programmers who can focus on their craft without constantly worrying about their next gig. As reported by IGN South Africa, Ustwo is far from the first studio to embrace this contractor-heavy model, but normalizing instability in game development ultimately harms the entire community in the long run.
Tags: Game Development, Industry News, Ustwo Games, Studio Culture, Game Labor
Original article: IGN South Africa