NetherRealm Studios is in the process of collecting employee concerns and reportedly cut back on overtime hours in the past week, a current employee tells Variety.
The current employee, who has asked to remain anonymous, said that a studio-wide meeting was held on Thursday following the aftermath of last week, when employees and contractors spoke out about their experiences working for NetherRealm. Reports of crunch (mandatory overtime) and a toxic work environment, including gender discrimination and harassment, surfaced last week at the studio, which is the developer behind the “Mortal Kombat” and “Injustice” games.
During the studio-wide meeting, employees were informed of how the studio will move forward with addressing concerns.
“HR will be sending out a survey for employees to fill out,” the employee wrote in an email to Variety. “These will then be sent out to WB [“Warner Bros.” the parent company of NetherRealm] for use in creating smaller focus groups among departments to further discuss the problems and concerns/complaints we have.”
It is not clear at this point if the survey is being filled out by both full-time and contract employees of NetherRealm.
NetherRealm gave a statement to Variety on Friday, saying that it prioritizes the creation of a “positive work experience” and that “We are actively looking into all allegations, as we take these matters very seriously and are always working to improve our company environment. There are confidential ways for employees to raise any concerns or issues.”
Following the statement, NetherRealm gave the studio the weekend off, according to the current employee.
