The Creators of Metroid Dread and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Working in Crunch Mode

Current and former employees of the Spanish game development studio MercurySteam have reported a significant decline in workplace conditions, characterized by persistent crunch, layoffs, and restrictive management practices throughout 2025. The studio, known for titles such as Metroid Dread and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, allegedly began implementing aggressive labor policies in January 2025 following the commercial underperformance of its project, Blades of Fire.

The shift in labor practices began with the introduction of the Distribución Irregular de la Jornada policy, which extended daily work hours with the promise of future rest. By May 2025, management reportedly pressured staff to adopt 10-hour workdays as the new standard, utilizing emotional appeals regarding the studio’s financial stability to justify the increased workload. Although these extended hours were technically framed as voluntary, employees described a culture where the non-mandatory nature of the overtime was effectively ignored.

The internal environment further deteriorated as the year progressed, with management reportedly canceling vacations, prohibiting remote work, and conducting a round of layoffs in August that affected approximately two dozen staff members. By September, the studio implemented measures to restrict internal communication, including the deletion of non-work-related chat channels and the installation of physical office partitions. These findings, based on reports from 3DJuegos, indicate that some departments remain in a state of continuous crunch, with no clear timeline for when these intensive working conditions will conclude. MercurySteam has not provided an official response to these allegations.