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Whenever I hear of a studio that has “grown 50%” since their last successful release, I get worried. So many companies grow way too fast. On the other hand you see small teams staying small, and doing great work for decades. A successful game can keep you afloat for ages if you stay small.

So I am glad to see more smaller studios using external development to keep a tight core of people with them for a longer time. Not only does it keep the knowledge in the company, it's also great for the stability of people's lives.

Why am I seeing so many strange takes about this article all of a sudden. We want people to have long term jobs in which they do not fear constantly being laid off, by staying away from boom-and-bust, which they intend!!

I feel like the takes are pretty self explanatory Outsourcing studios in other parts of the entertainment industry are often pretty bad places to work at, with no guarantee of any job being "long term", and unionizing won't prevent the companies hiring your outsourcing studio from dropping you

Absolutely some companies are bad to work for, either directly or as exdev. So we'd rather they were all hired directly and then immediately laid off instead? What is this reasoning?

No we'd rather they were all hired directly and then actually got a chance at unionizing so they can better protect themselves from actual layoffs, than be hired indirectly and have no protection from the companies hiring them whether or not they're unionized. There's more than 2 options there

Then don't overhire??? maintain a reasonable scale. And what happens if an outsourcing studio unionizes, and due to perfectly reasonable union demands, become more expensive than other outsourcing studios, and thus no longer able to compete with them?

You mention you want them all to be hired directly, and then also say they shouldn't overhire. The logic does not make sense.

Robin, you might be one of the smartest people i've ever had the pleasure to be taught by. I admire your work Please, understand why telling people who have no ability to build a future and are forced to leave the industry in droves that it's all a good thing isn't going to land well