Gardens Is A Newly-Founded Studio With An Employee-First Approach

With several big-name video game companies under fire because of toxic working conditions, a group of industry veterans have decided to found a new remote development studio where employee wellbeing comes first. The newly-created studio, aptly-called Gardens, is dedicated to growing a culture of collaboration, transparency, and empowerment.

“We share a responsibility to care for each other. That means implementing sustainable policies and practices, like competitive and equitable pay across departments, robust benefits and flexible work locations, honest and responsible project planning, and sustainable working hours and restorative time off. People need and deserve real work-life balance, and we all thrive when we can come to work rested and restored,” reads the studio’s website.

In case you’re wondering, they’ll also be developing games and are currently working on their first game which appears to be a fantasy MMO.

“Our upcoming flagship game is a shared fantasy adventure inspired by some of our favorite memories playing online games, particularly moments shared with strangers.Players will find themselves crossing paths in a shapeshifting, unpredictable wilderness filled with mystery and magic, featuring a timeless visual direction and tactile multiplayer play. It’s the world we want to adventure in every day.”

Gardens was co-founded by Chris Bell, Stephen Bell, and Lexie Dostal who have worked on popular AAA tiles such as The Elder Scrolls Online: Skyrim, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Journey. The studio was able to secure seed funding last year and is now hiring remote developers to work on their flagship game.

Head over to the Gardens official site for more information.