Motive, a pivotal year, by Patrick Klaus

It was one year ago, on March 15, 2020, that our teams started working from home. Back then, I was secretly hoping it would be for a few weeks, a couple of months tops, but our teams have been working remotely since that date. This past year has been challenging for all of us but it has taught us a lot too. Together we adapted, supported one another. And through incredible team spirit and resilience, we were able to ship Star Wars™: Squadrons, which we are very proud of. Ironically, I feel in some way this pandemic is making us collectively stronger as a team.

At Motive™, we believe in amazing synergies and creative energy sparked from being physically together. As much as we want that back, we have also seen many benefits from working remotely, such as undisturbed focus time, no commuting and more time with family. So, as we shape our back-to-work model, we will look at finding the sweet spot, the best of both worlds, because I strongly believe happy teams make better games and we want to build that studio culture together. We’ll try something, listen and evaluate, then iterate and adapt. 

We apply the same principles to our game development, particularly when in uncharted waters. As I shared last year in my previous blog post, encouraging innovation and calculated risk-taking in our approach to game development is part of our DNA at Motive. Over the last 2 years, as an Electronic Arts™ studio, we’ve had the opportunity to ideate, conceptualize and prototype on original intellectual property. We put a talented team together and gave them time, creating a safe space to innovate. We all embraced the experimentation and uncertainty which comes with creating something new, but ultimately we need to make decisions. One idea may be successful and make its way into a game, others may not. And that is ok, it is a normal part of the game development process. 

The same applies to all forms of art and entertainment. But one thing remains key: fueling that creative mindset. EA empowered us to own our destiny and fully supported us when we decided to pivot in a new direction. As we continue pushing the boundaries of gaming experiences on exciting new projects, I couldn’t be any more optimistic about our future.

Stay tuned for more news in the coming months!

We are looking for the most creative and forward-thinking minds to join the team and be part of our journey on a broad spectrum of positions, from production to design art and engineering. Check this link for more information.

Patrick