It looks like we’ve got more proof that excessive crunch periods within gaming are unhealthy, with the co-creator of Halo, Marcus Lehto, suggesting that it was a core reason for him leaving Bungie back in 2017.

Quoted in a great article by Eddie Makuch for Gamespot, Lehto said that he and many others had seen “the bad side of extended crunch periods” where developers were expected to put the product before their own health.

Having now created his own studio, V1 Interactive, Lehto is now working on a new title known as Disintegration, but clearly has the best interests of his workers and staff in mind and ensuring that the company continues to value the health and well-being of the team “both physically and mentally”.

It’s great to see a new studio that values the worth and health of its workers, but it’s a shame that this is becoming something rare within the industry, with excessive crunch periods becoming more and more commonplace within the games industry.

What do you think about the crunch problem in game development?