There are also many developed countries where these types of Gamedev Companies simply cannot and do not exist. The stories I've heard about (say) EA, that would never be possible in the Netherlands (probably even illegal, but culturally nobody would be willing to work under such conditions, either).
Not saying there aren't places here where you can software develop yourself to burnout death, but that really becomes a personal choice at that point. 80+ hour weeks are for the crazy ones. Sometimes it's the beautiful passionate crazies, and something amazing happens. I don't want to play down the results[0], but it's a gamble you play with your own health, life and well-being, it's a choice and one's own responsibility. You can't stop them, but you can make sure they may not hurt themselves too much.
[0] Actually, most examples I know of this are from areas completely outside software/computers, superheroes giving themselves for social/societal causes--but I wouldn't exclude "our" line of work per se.
Never? Try asking people who worked at Guerrilla Games for example [1]. Not the craziest crunch place ever, but far from flawless.
"Ultimately, we work crazy hours and weekends just to ensure we make something many people get to enjoy, so thanks for taking the time to express concern."
Not saying there aren't places here where you can software develop yourself to burnout death, but that really becomes a personal choice at that point. 80+ hour weeks are for the crazy ones. Sometimes it's the beautiful passionate crazies, and something amazing happens. I don't want to play down the results[0], but it's a gamble you play with your own health, life and well-being, it's a choice and one's own responsibility. You can't stop them, but you can make sure they may not hurt themselves too much.
[0] Actually, most examples I know of this are from areas completely outside software/computers, superheroes giving themselves for social/societal causes--but I wouldn't exclude "our" line of work per se.