Fortnite Developer Epic Games confirmed this weekend that it will transition the majority of its US-based temporary workers to full-time positions with benefits. The news comes later obtained an internal memo detailing the company’s plans. Epic spokeswoman Elka Looks said the studio plans to hire “a few hundred” of existing contractors and that most of those workers currently serve as quality assurance testers. Epic will directly employ these individuals and they will have access to the company’s benefit plan.
Looks also noted that the company will still hire temporary workers to fill “short-term needs,” and the memo On the edge obtained said that Epic would not extend the full-time job offer to some workers. “There are some exceptions where it makes sense for both the worker and Epic to maintain contingent worker status,” the document said, according to the outlet.
Epic’s decision to convert many of its QA testers into full-time employees comes at a time when workers in similar roles at Activision Blizzard’s Raven Software. In December, the studio , leading to a walkout involving full-time employees and contractors. Last month, these workers said they would unionize with the Communication Workers of America and asked them to voluntarily recognize their group. Activision and instead moved to in a way that critics of the company claim is intended to thwart those efforts.
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