Bandai Namco will reportedly be giving its developers a significant pay rise in April, including graduates and entry-level employees.
Developers across Bandai Namco will see their pay increase by around £324 (50,000 yen) a month as announced in a press release (thanks, Automaton). That is just under £3900 more a year, a notable amount more. For new employees, their salary will see an increase of around £1900 a year. This is apparently a part of a plan from Bandai Namco to help stabilise the income of its employees, as well as to improve their working conditions.
Bandai Namco is also introducing an “activity based working” system, which apparently will let employees choose when and where they work. As there is no thorough translation of the press release unavailable, it’s unclear if this means employees will be allowed to work from home, or potentially internationally.
Recently, Bandai Namco outlined its “IP axis strategy”. This plan will “boost capability to create IP,” in which the company will “develop a metaverse for each IP as a new framework for connecting with fans.” In a document released at the time, the company said “through the IP metaverse, we will establish communities among Bandai Namco and fans, as well as among fans themselves.”
“Through these communities and content, we will build deep, broad, multifaceted connections that continue for long periods of time, and we will focus on the quality of those connections.”
In other news, the in-game economy in Escape From Tarkov has crashed because it is tied to the real world Russian rouble, which is currently at an all-time low due to the ongoing military offensive against Ukraine. Players are now having to use the euro and the dollar to purchase items, as the conversion rate to rouble is very cost-ineffective.
