The Callisto Protocol: the director boasts that his team works overtime but then retracts it.

The Callisto Protocol is one of the most anticipated horror video games of the year; however, the game director, Glen Schofield, has found himself in the middle of controversy after admitting on Twitter that his team works overtime and justifying it because "This is gaming. You do it because you love it".

In the gaming industry, "crunch culture" is defined as the forced extra work when developing a video game. Crunch creates an exploitative work environment where employees work extra hours without rest and often without pay. Glen Schofield, director of The Callisto Protocol, shared on Twitter that his team is working six to seven hours a week with 12 to 15-hour workdays and that "nobody is forcing them". In the same tweet, he concludes that this work is done "because you love it".

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As expected, he quickly received criticism for promoting (and boasting about) a crunch culture in his office. Schofield then deleted the tweet and responded with a new one apologizing for it.

"Anyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about the people I work with. Earlier I tweeted how proud I was of the effort and hours the team was putting in. That was wrong. We value passion and creativity, not long hours. I'm sorry to the team for coming across like this".

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Although the director has retracted his comments, internet users have not forgiven this praise for crunch culture.

Reporter Jason Schreier, who has reported on crunch in the past, responded to the fact that this is a clear case of crunch culture. "Of course nobody is 'forced' to work extra hours. But imagine the reduced rewards and lack of promotion opportunities if you refuse," Schreier said. The reporter described the comment "You do it because you love it" as "passion turned into a weapon".

The Callisto Protocol, developed by Striking Distance Studios, is scheduled to be released on December 2nd.