+- Sick Gaming (https://sickgaming.net)
+-- Forum: Sick Gaming Community (https://sickgaming.net/forum-1.html)
+--- Forum: Lounge (https://sickgaming.net/forum-8.html)
+--- Thread: News - Atlus Aims To Raise Salaries, Improve Working Conditions As Layoffs Continue (/thread-103773.html)
News - Atlus Aims To Raise Salaries, Improve Working Conditions As Layoffs Continue - xSicKxBot - 03-17-2026
News - Atlus Aims To Raise Salaries, Improve Working Conditions As Layoffs Continue
<p>There's been a lot of demoralizing news about the game industry lately, with a constant stream of headlines about mass layoffs affecting <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-ceo-tries-to-justify-mass-layoffs/1100-6538314/">several</a> <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-reportedly-cuts-staff-at-battlefield-6-dev-after-games-massive-initial-success/1100-6538673/">publishers</a> coming one after the other for weeks on end. So when a company like Atlus, developers of Persona, Shin Megami Tensei, and Etrian Odyssey--among many other titles--notes that it's actively putting efforts in to try to make its workplace <em>better</em>, it's like a sweet, soft song amongst a cacophony of misery.</p><p>As first mentioned in <a href="https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000009.000074872.html">a press release</a> and reported on by <a href="https://automaton-media.com/en/news/persona-developer-atlus-to-raise-starting-salaries-for-new-hires-and-increase-existing-employees-base-pay-by-15-fixed-overtime-to-be-reduced/">Automaton West</a>, Atlus plans to make improvements to its working environment starting in April of this year. New recruits will have their monthly salaries raised by 10%, going from 300,000 yen of pay each month to 330,000 yen. Longtime employees and independent contractors working on their titles will see a raise, too, aiming to increase yearly salaries by around 15%.</p><p>Japanese companies are notorious for often-harsh overtime demands, though in recent years <a href="https://www.jil.go.jp/english/jli/documents/2025/054-05.pdf">government legislation</a> has made conditions better for workers and helped curtail the abuses of so-called "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_company_(Japan)">black companies</a>." Meanwhile, the global video game industry is notorious for its "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crunch_(video_games)">crunch</a>" practices that require lengthy overtime from workers to complete a game. Atlus, however, is attempting to reduce fixed overtime for its employees, slashing the hours from 30 to 20 each month.</p><a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/atlus-aims-to-raise-salaries-improve-working-conditions-as-layoffs-continue-hitting-games-industry/1100-6538818/?ftag=CAD-01-10abi2f/">Continue Reading at GameSpot</a>
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/atlus-aims-to-raise-salaries-improve-working-conditions-as-layoffs-continue-hitting-games-industry/1100-6538818/?ftag=CAD-01-10abi2f