French union Le Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV) described Nacon’s decision to close Spiders as a “premeditated and deliberate choice” and called for a boycott of the company.
In March, Nacon began a court-supervised reorganisation to address debt and restructure. Shortly after, four subsidiaries – Spiders, Kylotonn, Cyanice, and Nacon Tech – filed for insolvency.
STJV noted that 71 workers have been affected by the decision announced earlier this week.
“Officially, the liquidation is caused by Spiders not making enough profit and the absence of a takeover offer,” the union said. It described Nacon’s decision to close Spiders as a “premeditated and deliberate choice.”
GamesIndustry.biz has requested comment from Nacon regarding the accusations.
Spiders was acquired by Nacon (then Bigben Interactive) in 2019. According to the union, since then, Spiders has been “the victim of financial arrangements in which Nacon was, at the same time, Spiders’ owner, president and single client.”
“The studio wasn’t getting any royalties on the games it made after GreedFall, and all its income and liquid assets were de facto seized by the group,” the union claimed.
“Last year, when Nacon abruptly cancelled production on project Dark, unilaterally and without concrete explanations, it started a countdown for the studio, which did not have any contract ensuring its survival after the release of GreedFall 2.”
STJV alleged that Nacon refused to sign a new contract and prevented Spiders from offering its services to other publishers and investors.
The union also alleged that management at Spiders and Nacon “managed the studio carelessly.”
“They notably ignored the many alerts on the company’s economic situation, strategy and management made by worker representatives, who gave numerous negative reports during the yearly mandatory consultations.”
In August 2024, Spiders workers went on strike after publishing an open letter highlighting mismanagement at the studio.
Management responded by condemning what it described as “false and even defamatory accusations.”
Workers had demanded greater transparency and representation, a simpler organisational structure, guarantees for remote work, and improved working conditions.
A month later, Spiders’ leadership announced an audit of working conditions. It also confirmed salary increases and guaranteed remote work following the strike.
