British video game developer says working from home HAS affected efficiency as it announces delays to its latest releases
- Frontier Developments said lack of physical group work has caused setbacks
- Firm said there was ‘no question’ that remote working was stifling productivity
- It announced postponed launch dates to two of its games in a trading update
A British video game developer has blamed remote working during the pandemic for delays to its latest releases.
Frontier Developments, whose franchises include Elite Dangerous and Lemnis Gate, lamented the lack of physical group-work for stalling progress.
In a trading update posted to the London Stock Exchange yesterday, the Cambridge-based firm said there was ‘no question’ remote working was affecting productivity.
Frontier Developments, whose franchises include Elite Dangerous and Lemnis Gate, lamented the lack of physical group-work for stalling progress
A lack of a physical hub has brought ‘inevitable minor delays’ to the firm’s software development.
The company said: ‘In general we found individual task-based working in most cases to be just as effective from home as from the office, but are continually trying to adapt our processes for group and planning tasks that require collaborative working.
‘There is no question there are still some efficiency challenges, especially for larger projects, when working remotely.’
Like much of the country, Frontier vacated its office in March as Boris Johnson ordered the country to stay at home and work remotely where possible.
The lockdown saw nearly 47 per cent of Britain’s workforce work remotely in April last year, ONS figures show.
In the summer, as the virus waned and infections were brought down, the Prime Minister urged people to go back to the office – but has since retracted that call in the teeth of a devastating second wave.
Frontier said this cycle of lockdowns had forced them to review their release timeline amid ‘added pressure’ on staff.
Its Elite Dangerous franchise has raked in more than £100million since its launch in 2014, and sees ‘commanders’ roam the Milky Way in spaceflight simulation
It announced postponed launch dates to two of its games. Elite Dangerous: Odyssey will now be released on PC in May despite initially being penned in for the first quarter of this year.
The latest Lemnis Gate installment has also been pushed back from 2021 to 2022.
But despite the setbacks, chief executive David Braben said lockdown had spurred demand for video games.
He said: ‘2020 was a hard year for a great many people because of the challenges of Covid-19.
‘Despite this, and doubtless helped by lockdown boosting demand for screen-based entertainment around the world, we had a successful year through the hard work and adaptability of our talented teams.’
Its Elite Dangerous franchise has raked in more than £100million since its launch in 2014, and sees ‘commanders’ roam the Milky Way in spaceflight simulation.