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Hutch Announces Continuation of 4 Day Working Week Following Successful Pilot
Hutch, the renowned automotive mobile game developer, has confirmed that a four-day working week will continue beyond the initial pilot period, officially becoming the latest employee benefit for the team.
In June 2022, Hutch began its trial in partnership with 4 Day Week Global, introduced across the studio’s offices and 150+ strong workforce in London, Dundee and Nova Scotia. The implementation of the policy saw productivity remain stable. Hutch also saw lower turnover of staff and higher job offer acceptance rates during the trial. As a winner of the gamesindustry.biz Best Place to Work award for the last 3 years, the wellbeing of staff was paramount to Hutch when taking part in the trial and in continuing to offer a great place to work in the gaming industry.
Testing the impact of the shorter week on productivity, team wellbeing and more, Hutch worked closely with experts to support their staff on how to make the most of a four-day week. Following the success of the trial, Hutch will be introducing a four-day working week as a rolling 12-month policy for all its staff, to be reviewed annually.
Hutch joined 4 Day Week Global’s official trial alongside 70 other companies taking part to show the value of the change to working practices. Within the trial, Hutch provided valuable data to researchers from Boston College and Oxford University, to build a definitive case for a 4-day week, set to be released in February 2023.
The business learnt a lot during the trial and adjusted as needed. This is an approach that will continue and with the four-day working week becoming an official Hutch policy, there will be adjustments to the existing programme in order to support its success longer term. These adjustments include bi-monthly team days allowing the opportunity to focus on business and social activities and working on Fridays during the weeks in which a bank holiday falls. Elements such as pro-rated holiday, a 2 hour “no meeting” slot and dedicated quiet zone created within the office will remain. An additional day of annual leave has also been awarded to staff in order to reflect the team days. With the offices set to close over the festive period, the first day of the continued four-day week programme will effectively commence on Tuesday 3rd January.
Shaun Rutland, CEO of Hutch, said: “The trial taught us a great deal about making the most of the time we have, and how to pin down what Hutch needs to build on what we do well. A key learning from the trial is that productivity should not be valued by time spent on tasks, instead we needed to ensure that we were focused on outputs. The way we work and how we spend our time day to day has improved as a result, helped by our Hutchies feeling refreshed after a three-day weekend. There are challenges we will still need to resolve and better ways of working to be tested, but we’re excited to put this into practice in the new year.”
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Eagerly anticipated release now confirmed following a highly successful exclusivity period with Rush Street Interactive
Play’n GO has today announced the official US release of its hit title Colt Lightning Firestorm, following a three-week period of exclusivity with Rush Street Interactive brands BetRivers and SugarHouse.
Colt Lightning Firestorm was released in Europe and other jurisdictions in May 2024, and its release in the US comes with much fanfare following the game’s rave reviews in its short exclusivity period. The game is a sequel to the wildly popular Colt Lightning game which was released early last year, and indications at this stage suggest that this sequel may prove even more successful.
This announcement sees Colt Lightning Firestorm available to players in each state and operator with whom Play’n GO is licensed. Play’n GO first entered the online casino market in the US in 2022, and has reiterated its commitment to becoming active in every regulated market around the world.
Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer at Play’n GO said: “We’re excited to unveil Colt Lightning Firestorm to the wider online casino gaming community in the US, and have been very pleased to see its strong performance during its exclusivity period with Rush Street Interactive. We had high hopes for the game following the success of its predecessor, and we’re confident that these robust results will continue now that the game is available to an even bigger audience.”
Esports entertainment company BLAST has announced plans to host two popular esports events in Singapore in 2024 and 2025.
BLAST will bring both world-class Counter-Strike and Dota 2 tournaments to the heart of Southeast Asia, marking a major step in Singapore’s emergence as an esports and gaming hub. Supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), these high-profile events will bring the world’s best esports teams and players from all across the world to compete in Singapore.
BLAST has teamed up with AEG Presents Asia, one of the world’s largest live entertainment entities to bring these events to Singapore. The partnership forms part of BLAST’s ambition to create the best esports experiences by working closely with premier destinations and the biggest and best live entertainment partners.
More than half of global esports views (57%) are estimated to come from the Asia Pacific region, 47% more than any other region in the world with the global market valued at $1.6 billion.
By bringing the top-tier Counter-Strike and Dota 2 tournaments to Singapore, BLAST aims
to attract global esports talent, foster local growth, and elevate Singapore’s status as a destination for world-class esports entertainment.
James Woollard, Director of Market Development at BLAST, said: “We are incredibly excited to bring two of the biggest esports titles to this vibrant destination. Over the coming 18 months, Singapore will become a major hub for esports in Southeast Asia, and with the support of the Singapore Tourism Board, we look forward to delivering unforgettable experiences for fans while helping to build a thriving esports ecosystem in the region. Bringing the first BLAST arena event to Singapore is an exciting first step in this journey. The World Final will see the world’s best Counter-Strike players and teams fighting for a $1,000,000 total prize pool.”
Ms Ong Ling Lee, Executive Director, Sports and Wellness, Singapore Tourism Board, said, “We are excited to host the BLAST Premier World Final and the BLAST Dota Slam in Singapore. The Counter-Strike event marks the first BLAST-branded event in Southeast Asia and the inaugural Counter-Strike tournament series in the region, solidifying Singapore’s position as a world-class esports destination. We are confident that the international participants and their legions of fans will have a memorable experience in Singapore, immersing themselves in the diverse and dynamic offerings of our city.”
The World Final 2024 will take place from 30th October – 3rd November and will be the first BLAST event to take place in Singapore, followed by the BLAST Dota Slam in 2025. The World Final will be the biggest Counter-Strike event to take place in Singapore, where the world’s best eight Counter-Strike teams will compete for a massive prize pool of $1,000,000 and the chance to claim bragging rights as the best team around.
Qualified World Final teams: NAVI, Team Spirit, Team Vitality, FaZe Clan and G2 Esports.
Fans can sign-up for the pre-sale window by registering with BLAST.tv, where they will also receive updates and information on tickets.
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