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Texas, a state whose leadership has long espoused a hyper-individualistic Mad Max apocalypse sort of ethos, has spent the past week putting those ideals to the test. It has not fared well. A record-breaking winter storm led to power outages across the state, as well as food and water shortages. Millions of Texas residents are suffering, with a death toll that continues to climb. As a result, a multitude of major Texas-based game studios have temporarily ceased operations, while smaller developers struggle to get by.
Texans began losing power last Thursday, but the state truly came to a halt on Monday, when the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) instituted a series of rolling blackouts to keep the state’s cordoned-off grid—a product of privatization and deregulation—from blowing its top. Originally, blackouts were only supposed to last a short period. Instead, millions of Texans have been without electricity all week. Without power, water treatment plants have faltered, leading many major cities to issue boil water notices. These remain in effect now, as burst pipes and overwhelmed systems have led to further complications, even with weather conditions and power issues starting to improve. The food supply is also in dire straits, with deliveries disrupted by icy roads, leading to empty grocery store shelves and overtaxed food banks.
Video game companies, too, have closed down. In statements to Kotaku, EA, Aspyr Media, Certain Affinity, and Owlchemy Labs said they halted operations in Texas entirely for the week. Even with many employees working from home due to covid, the situation was too much for studios to bear.
“With the ongoing severe weather events and widespread power outages, we’ve temporarily closed Electronic Arts operations in Austin to allow for those employees to prioritize and focus on their safety and that of their families,” an EA spokesperson told Kotaku in an email, noting that EA employs over 700 people in Texas. “All other EA studios remain operational and are supporting the Austin team during this time. We do not expect player experiences to be impacted. We place our teams first and continue to perform daily wellness check-ins with employees to assess their safety and offer any support and resources.”
kotaku.com
Texans began losing power last Thursday, but the state truly came to a halt on Monday, when the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) instituted a series of rolling blackouts to keep the state’s cordoned-off grid—a product of privatization and deregulation—from blowing its top. Originally, blackouts were only supposed to last a short period. Instead, millions of Texans have been without electricity all week. Without power, water treatment plants have faltered, leading many major cities to issue boil water notices. These remain in effect now, as burst pipes and overwhelmed systems have led to further complications, even with weather conditions and power issues starting to improve. The food supply is also in dire straits, with deliveries disrupted by icy roads, leading to empty grocery store shelves and overtaxed food banks.
Video game companies, too, have closed down. In statements to Kotaku, EA, Aspyr Media, Certain Affinity, and Owlchemy Labs said they halted operations in Texas entirely for the week. Even with many employees working from home due to covid, the situation was too much for studios to bear.
“With the ongoing severe weather events and widespread power outages, we’ve temporarily closed Electronic Arts operations in Austin to allow for those employees to prioritize and focus on their safety and that of their families,” an EA spokesperson told Kotaku in an email, noting that EA employs over 700 people in Texas. “All other EA studios remain operational and are supporting the Austin team during this time. We do not expect player experiences to be impacted. We place our teams first and continue to perform daily wellness check-ins with employees to assess their safety and offer any support and resources.”
Video Game Studios Across Texas Have Temporarily Closed Due To Winter Storms And Power Outages
Texas, a state whose leadership has long espoused a hyper-individualistic Mad Max apocalypse sort of ethos, has spent the past week putting those ideals to the test. It has not fared well. A record-breaking winter storm led to power outages across the state, as well as food and water shortages...
kotaku.com
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