Although a project 16 years in the past, the aftermath of “Battle for Middle-earth” made overt what happened behind-the-scenes as the video game industry grew from small teams to major productions involving hundreds. Lasting fallout from the game’s creation made long hours and developer treatment an issue warranting attention. “Battle for Middle-earth” became the catalyst for studios to begin rethinking their approach, in part due to widespread public outcry and young developers realizing their workweeks were anything but normal. Even a decade and a half later, crunch is still prevalent in the industry. Earlier this year, CD Projekt Red’s extended development of “Cyberpunk 2077” raised ire after the studio reneged on an earlier promise to avoid crunch, forcing six day workweeks on its employees.
Released in December 2004, “Battle for Middle-earth” found critical…
