We appreciate the hard work of everyone who contributes to our releases, but it is and always has been company policy that only current members of our staff are credited. We have never credited staff for their individual roles, or if they have left the company.

— XSEED Games (@XSEEDGames) June 7, 2019

Hey guys, did you know if you leave XSEED games, you get removed from the credits of a game you worked on when the game gets an update? Another company I have to stay away from. I'm getting tired of this.

https://kotaku.com/jrpg-publisher-removes-producer-from-new-games-credits-1835346097

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This honestly sounds more like laziness than malice. Like no one ever bothered to track who did what, so each time they publish something, they just grab the CURRENT employee roster at that moment.

That doesn't surprise me at all, and if you've never worked somewhere disorganized enough to do something similar, then I congratulate you on your very good luck. But what does annoy me a bit is when this was pointed out, they apparently doubled down on it as "policy" rather than just saying "huh, yeah we should probably track that."

Maybe that’s the case, but I doubt it.

Not crediting people who aren’t still there when the game ships is apparently a pretty common practice, and some studios absolutely do it maliciously.

Maybe that’s the case, but I doubt it.

Not crediting people who aren’t still there when the game ships is apparently a pretty common practice, and some studios absolutely do it maliciously.

"Don't complain or leave, otherwise you get no credit"

This honestly sounds more like laziness than malice. Like no one ever bothered to track who did what, so each time they publish something, they just grab the CURRENT employee roster at that moment.

They have updated the games post-launch to remove people from the credits (even the localization team!)

That doesn't surprise me at all, and if you've never worked somewhere disorganized enough to do something similar, then I congratulate you on your very good luck. But what does annoy me a bit is when this was pointed out, they apparently doubled down on it as "policy" rather than just saying "huh, yeah we should probably track that."

It's basically instilling a fear of erasure, making employees more subservient, without directly threatening them. The fact that it's acknowledged as policy really just removes any trace of doubt as to it being a form of intimidation.

This honestly sounds more like laziness than malice. Like no one ever bothered to track who did what, so each time they publish something, they just grab the CURRENT employee roster at that moment.

They have updated the games post-launch to remove people from the credits (even the localization team!)

That doesn't surprise me at all, and if you've never worked somewhere disorganized enough to do something similar, then I congratulate you on your very good luck. But what does annoy me a bit is when this was pointed out, they apparently doubled down on it as "policy" rather than just saying "huh, yeah we should probably track that."

It's basically instilling a fear of erasure, making employees more subservient, without directly threatening them. The fact that it's acknowledged as policy really just removes any trace of doubt as to it being a form of intimidation.

Recognizing the point and sentiment of this thread, I have to throw in this argument. How many professions exist that have "credits"? Movies and games? And I'm pretty sure movie credits are there as part of union agreements. They have to be in a certain order, certain people get their own screen, while others might share a screen, while others are in the scroll. Is the video game industry follow the same model?

Outside of that, the remaining 99.9% of the worlds workforce don't get "credit" for the job they do. Their efforts are under the name of the business. At my job, I create pretty much all of the publicly viewed media but I don't get any public credit for it...I get a paycheck. That's how a job works.

[Edit] - Just to clarify, I'm not defending the discussed actions, I agree it's crappy to actively remove people from the original lineup if they were previously mentioned.

They have updated the games post-launch to remove people from the credits (even the localization team!)

Ah, sorry. That wasn't clear to me from the information present.

And I'm pretty sure movie credits are there as part of union agreements. They have to be in a certain order, certain people get their own screen, while others might share a screen, while others are in the scroll. Is the video game industry follow the same model?

There are credits in non-union movies too. And in games, which have no unions. There are playbills for theatre. Photo credit for photography. The author is listed on the book cover. Songwriters are listed in album inserts. It is just the decent thing to do.

Placement and order of credits in film is largely determined by your contract, not unions. The DGA does have a few rules with regards to credits. Most standard union contracts simply require a credit to be given but don't mandate beyond that, other than handling disputes (such as when a script is rewritten, who gets the top writing credit for example).

Outside of that, the remaining 99.9% of the worlds workforce don't get "credit" for the job they do. Their efforts are under the name of the business. At my job, I create pretty much all of the publicly viewed media but I don't get any public credit for it...I get a paycheck. That's how a job works.

Your job doesn't seem to be in the arts then… because in the arts the norm and expectation is to recognize the people who contribute.

And I'm pretty sure movie credits are there as part of union agreements. They have to be in a certain order, certain people get their own screen, while others might share a screen, while others are in the scroll. Is the video game industry follow the same model?

There are credits in non-union movies too. And in games, which have no unions. There are playbills for theatre. Photo credit for photography. The author is listed on the book cover. Songwriters are listed in album inserts. It is just the decent thing to do.

Placement and order of credits is largely determined by your contract, not unions. The DGA does have a few rules with regards to credits.

Outside of that, the remaining 99.9% of the worlds workforce don't get "credit" for the job they do. Their efforts are under the name of the business. At my job, I create pretty much all of the publicly viewed media but I don't get any public credit for it...I get a paycheck. That's how a job works.

Your job doesn't seem to be in the arts then… because in the arts the norm and expectation is to recognize the people who contribute.

Fair enough :)

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