If you are looking for game jobs with a four-day week or firm anti-crunch rules, the clearest public commitments come from Super Spline Studios and Hutch in the UK. A GDC panel has also documented four-day operations at Armor Games, KO_OP, Kitfox Games and ManaVoid Entertainment. Brace Yourself Games and Talewind are additional leads listed by a four-day-workweek directory, but their current policies should be confirmed directly with each employer. Treat every claim as a starting point: ask whether the week is really 32 hours, whether salary is unchanged, what counts as an emergency, and whether the policy is permanent.
Studios with publicly described four-day or no-crunch practices
Public evidence varies from detailed employer statements to conference descriptions and directory entries. The distinction matters: a studio announcement is stronger evidence than an unsourced list, but neither is an independent audit of every team or project.
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Super Spline Studios: permanent four-day week with no pay cut
UK-based Super Spline Studios announced a permanent four-day workweek with no reduction in pay and no increase in hours. Its stated practice is four working days rather than four longer days. The studio says it offers fully remote positions or an office option, has never used crunch or overtime, promotes internally and pays an annual profit share.
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Co-founder Aron Durkin described the aim as making the studio a place for a full career. Co-founder James Childs called it a strict, public, zero-tolerance policy on overtime or crunch. Those are strong, studio-owned commitments, not the result of an independent workplace audit. Applicants should still ask how the policy operates during launches, platform submissions and unexpected technical failures.
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Hutch: four-day policy with emergency exceptions
Hutch’s careers information says the company promotes work-life balance and that, outside critical work and emergencies, employees do not work overtime. The company trialled a four-day week for six months beginning in June 2022 and then made it official, subject to a rolling 12-month review.
The same careers material lists mental-health coaching, private medical insurance, enhanced parental leave, flexible hours and small autonomous teams. The public description does not establish that every role is a 32-hour week or that salary and leave are unchanged, so those points need confirmation in an offer discussion.
Splash Damage: announcement with key terms still unstated
In July 2023, Splash Damage announced a four-day workweek on-site at its London office. The announcement, as reported at the time, did not disclose pay, leave or permanence. Do not describe this as a full-pay or permanent arrangement without a newer employer statement. Ask whether the schedule is four eight-hour days, a compressed 40-hour week, or a pilot that can be withdrawn.
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Four studios described in a GDC independent-games panel
A GDC Independent Games Summit listing described four-day operations at four studios:
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- Armor Games moved to a four-day week in 2021.
- KO_OP has run a four-day studio since 2020.
- Kitfox Games has run a four-day week since June 2021.
- ManaVoid Entertainment had operated a four-day week for several years at the time of the panel.
The panel focused on motivations, transition methods, data collection, mental-health practices, recruiting and coordination with partners that still work five-day schedules. The listing does not provide a uniform hour count, pay rule or overtime policy for all four studios, so compare their current contracts rather than assuming the arrangements are identical.
Brace Yourself Games and Talewind: useful leads that need verification
The directory 4dayweek.io describes Brace Yourself Games as working Monday through Thursday for no more than 32 hours per week, with paid winter and summer closures, open paid time off and unlimited sick days. It describes Talewind as fully remote across the UK with a four-day, 32-hour, no-crunch schedule. Product Director David is quoted as saying, “We don’t do crunch, we make sure people are only doing their hours.”
These descriptions are secondary evidence. Check each employer’s current careers page and written offer for the exact hours, holiday treatment, sick-leave rules, probation terms and any exception for releases.
What each published arrangement actually establishes
A “four-day week” can mean four eight-hour days, a genuine 32-hour week, or the same weekly hours compressed into fewer days. The following table separates what is documented from what remains unknown.
| Studio | Published schedule or status | Pay and overtime evidence | Evidence strength and gaps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Spline Studios (UK) | Permanent four-day week; no increase in hours | No reduction in pay; studio says it has never used crunch or overtime | Detailed company announcement; no independent audit |
| Hutch (UK) | Six-month trial from June 2022, then official policy reviewed on a rolling 12-month basis | No overtime outside critical work and emergencies; pay and weekly hour total not stated | Employer careers page; clarify emergency process and compensation |
| Splash Damage (UK) | July 2023 announcement for a four-day week on-site in London | Pay, leave and permanence not stated in the announcement | News report of company announcement; seek updated terms |
| Armor Games | Moved to a four-day week in 2021 | Not stated | GDC panel listing; verify current policy |
| KO_OP | Four-day studio since 2020 | Not stated | GDC panel listing; verify current policy |
| Kitfox Games | Four-day week since June 2021 | Not stated | GDC panel listing; verify current policy |
| ManaVoid Entertainment | Four-day week for several years at the time of the panel | Not stated | GDC panel listing; verify current policy |
| Brace Yourself Games | Monday–Thursday, no more than 32 hours; paid winter and summer closures | Open PTO and unlimited sick days described by a directory | Secondary directory listing; confirm with employer |
| Talewind | Fully remote in the UK; four-day, 32-hour schedule | No-crunch claim; “only doing their hours” quote | Secondary directory listing; confirm with employer |
How to tell a sustainable week from a compressed schedule
Check the real hour total
Ask for the contractual weekly hours and the expected daily span. A 32-hour schedule is materially different from four 10-hour days. Confirm whether lunch breaks are included, whether core hours apply across time zones and whether meetings regularly extend beyond the stated day.
Check whether salary and leave remain intact
Super Spline explicitly says pay is not reduced. Other public descriptions do not establish the same. Ask whether annual salary, pension contributions, bonus calculations, paid holidays and sick leave are calculated as if you worked five days. A company can preserve salary while reducing paid holiday days, or preserve days while shortening the week; the contract should make this clear.
Define overtime before you need it
Policies use different boundaries: zero tolerance, emergency-only, manager approval, paid overtime, time off in lieu or no stated rule. “Critical work” and “emergency” should have a named decision-maker and a written record. Ask how often exceptions occurred in the last release cycle and whether anyone was disciplined for declining extra hours.
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Super Spline describes a permanent policy. Hutch’s policy is official but reviewed on a rolling 12-month basis. A pilot may be valuable, yet you should know its end date, success measures and who can change it. Request notice of any return to five days and ask whether existing employees keep their terms after a review.
Examine delivery safeguards
A shorter week works only when scope, staffing and milestones match available capacity. Ask how teams control feature creep, what happens when a partner still works five days, and whether release calendars include quiet periods. Useful signals include realistic milestone planning, stable staffing, agile prioritisation, documented handoffs and regular measurement of wellbeing and productivity rather than heroics near launch.
Separate location flexibility from working-time sustainability
Remote work does not automatically prevent overtime. Confirm whether a role is fully remote, hybrid or office-based; the required overlap hours; travel expectations; and who pays for occasional on-site events. Talewind’s directory description is fully remote across the UK, while Splash Damage’s announcement specified an on-site London arrangement.
Review recovery and benefits
Paid time off, sick leave, parental leave, mental-health support and compensatory rest determine whether a nominally short week is sustainable over years. Hutch publicly lists mental-health coaching, private medical insurance, enhanced parental leave and flexible hours. Brace Yourself Games’ directory listing mentions paid seasonal closures, open PTO and unlimited sick days; verify how those benefits are administered and whether they apply to contractors.
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The 2023 Gameworkers.org survey shows why a headline schedule is not enough. Respondents reported long hours, crunch and gaps in basic benefits, while ordinary averages can conceal severe deadline spikes.
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| Survey finding | Reported result | What it means for applicants |
|---|---|---|
| Average weekly hours | 25% averaged 41 hours or more; the longest reported average was 95 hours | Ask for distribution and peak-season figures, not only the team average |
| Crunch | Half reported crunch in the previous two years | Request a concrete example of the last crunch period and its cause |
| Uncompensated work | 22.3% were currently working uncompensated hours; 17.7% had done so previously | Confirm overtime pay or time-off-in-lieu in writing |
| Role expansion | 52.1% performed duties belonging to another job title | Clarify role boundaries, staffing and promotion expectations |
| Retirement coverage | 36.7% lacked an employer-sponsored retirement plan | Check pension or retirement contributions in the offer |
| Paid vacation | 25.6% lacked paid vacation | Verify the number of paid days and holiday shutdowns |
| Paid sick time | 21.3% lacked paid sick time | Ask about statutory and enhanced sick-leave provisions |
Gameworkers.org also links crunch to mismanaged timelines and notes that it can be unpaid. A studio can therefore report an average near 40 hours while still imposing intense, unpaid spikes on a minority of workers. Public promises are valuable signals, but they are not proof that every project, manager or contractor follows them.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Questions to ask during interviews
- What are the contracted weekly hours, and what time does a normal day begin and end?
- Is this a genuine reduction in hours or a compressed five-day schedule?
- Is salary unchanged, and do pension, bonus, holiday and sick-pay calculations use the same basis?
- What exactly qualifies as critical work or an emergency?
- How many overtime hours did this team work during its last release, and were they paid or returned as time off?
- Who can authorise an exception, and can an employee decline it without retaliation?
- Is the policy permanent, on a pilot, or subject to an annual review?
- What happens when an external publisher, platform holder or co-development partner works five days?
- How are scope, milestones and staffing adjusted to fit four days?
- Which benefits are available from the first day, and which require a qualifying period?
- Can you provide the policy and exception process in writing with the employment offer?
A practical verification process before accepting an offer
- Get the policy document. Ask for the current handbook section or contract clause, not only a recruiting slogan.
- Map the calendar. Compare the stated week with stand-ups, reviews, build deadlines, launch windows and mandatory events.
- Test the exception rule. Ask for two recent examples: one routine deadline and one genuine emergency. Find out who worked extra hours and how recovery was handled.
- Check review and withdrawal language. Note the review date, notice period and whether the company can revert to five days unilaterally.
- Speak with the hiring manager and future peers. Differences between departments often reveal whether a policy is consistently applied.
- Confirm benefits in the offer. Ensure salary, holiday, sick leave, parental leave, retirement contributions and any seasonal closure are written down.
- Recheck before resigning. Ask whether the policy or project schedule changed after the interview; a dated written confirmation protects against misunderstandings.
What “no crunch” can and cannot promise
“No crunch” should mean that management plans scope and staffing so employees are not expected to exceed their hours. It does not mean that every milestone will be easy or that incidents never occur. The meaningful test is what the studio does when a deadline slips: cut scope, move the date, add staff, or quietly ask people to donate evenings and weekends.
Look for evidence that leaders measure wellbeing and productivity, budget for partner coordination and treat recovery as part of delivery. A four-day label without those mechanisms can simply move pressure into four longer days or into unpaid evenings.
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Bottom line
For the strongest documented combination of a shorter week and explicit overtime limits, start with Super Spline Studios’ permanent, no-pay-cut policy and Hutch’s four-day policy with overtime restricted outside critical work and emergencies. The GDC panel provides credible historical examples at Armor Games, KO_OP, Kitfox Games and ManaVoid Entertainment. Brace Yourself Games and Talewind may fit a 32-hour, no-crunch model, but their directory listings require current employer verification. In every case, accept the job only after the hours, pay, exceptions, review terms and recovery benefits are written into the offer.
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