As we’ve made clear over the last several months, the game industry is in a place where just about every week, you could potentially find a story where someone is getting laid off, or projects are getting canceled, and people are wondering what some of the big publishers will do next to try and “stop the bleeding.” It’s not a good thing, and it’s honestly making gamers worried about the future of the industry. However, even with all of this, there are some companies that are doing well, with FromSoftware being a developer that arguably stands above all others in some cases.
Ever since finding its “niche” by making Souls-style games, the company hit a groove that led to numerous Game of the Year contenders, winners, awards, accolades, and everything in between. Just as important, not only have they not had a “dud” in a long time, but all the company’s games have sold well. Fast forward to 2024, and they released the anticipated DLC for its most recent Game of the Year winner, and that’s been doing great sales-wise, too.
The reason we bring all this up is that FromSoftware announced via press release that with everything going on with the company, they’re actually going to INCREASE the salaries of workers starting next fiscal year. It’s about an 11% increase, and while some are a bit blown away by how “low the pay for working there is,” let’s not ignore that these people are getting an increase in pay for the good work that they do.
Something that is often associated with the gaming industry nowadays is greed, as we’ve seen numerous “top people” within “industry leaders” highlight how they’re more worried about making profits or lining their own pockets instead of making great games. Then, when games don’t work out the way they want, they blame everyone but themselves. In contrast, FromSoftware not only has a parent company that lets them be themselves in the best way, but the company itself clearly cares about its workers. In the past, its president has even said in the past that he works hard to ensure that no one from the team gets laid off. This is an approach that many of us can appreciate, given recent times.
While this doesn’t mean the company will be “on top” forever or that this kind of raise will happen all the time, it’s important to celebrate this kind of news and hope that it happens with other companies sooner rather than later.
