Jordan Lemos, a writer for video games, has lived in three different cities over the past five years. He moved from Los Angeles to Quebec to Seattle — working on blockbusters such as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Ghost of Tsushima — because the jobs required it. So when he was looking for a new gig last year, he told prospective employers he wasn’t going to do it again. He would only work remotely.
Several big game companies were quick to say no once they heard his ultimatum. But Aspyr Media Inc., the Austin, Texas-based developer behind the highly anticipated Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic remake, was fine with the arrangement, offering a contract that will let Lemos work from his apartment in Seattle even after the pandemic ends.
"Personally, any negatives that may exist from remote work are negligible to the massive amount of positives,” Lemos said. Game studios that refuse to be flexible will have to "see how much great talent they're missing out on by forcing people to completely uproot their lives,” he said.
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