Look, let's be honest: Obsidian Entertainment, the studio best known for The Outer Worlds and Fallout: New Vegas, is currently in a spot of bother. The company is facing a class-action lawsuit over alleged systemic violations of labour laws, including unpaid wages and breaches of working hour regulations.

The suit, which has surfaced in records at the Orange County Superior Court in California, paints a rather grim picture. It alleges that Obsidian has systematically flouted labour laws to pad its own pockets, engaging in what the plaintiffs describe as a blatant disregard for standard wage and hour regulations.

Victoria Turner, the lead plaintiff and former QA tester for The Outer Worlds 2, has filed a complaint citing nine specific counts of labour law violations. The list is long and rather damning: it covers everything from a failure to pay minimum wage and overtime, to neglected severance pay, and a chronic lack of mandated meal and rest breaks.

The class action represents non-exempt employees who have worked at the studio since October 9, 2021, as well as several former staff members. In the US, 'non-exempt' workers are those protected by strict wage laws, typically paid by the hour, and entitled to 1.5 times their standard rate for any time clocked beyond a 40-hour work week.

The plaintiffs are not asking for peanuts. They are demanding back pay for unpaid wages and overtime, compensation for those missed meal and rest breaks, and reimbursement for out-of-pocket work expenses—plus interest, of course. To top it off, they want Obsidian to cover the statutory penalties and foot the bill for all legal and court costs incurred.

Obsidian, for its part, is holding firm. In a response filed with the court this March, the studio has denied every single allegation. Their legal representation, Fisher & Phillips, has fired back with a 38-point defence, arguing that the claims lack factual merit, that some are barred by the statute of limitations, and that many of the disputed issues were, they claim, matters the employees had voluntarily consented to. We shall see how this plays out in court.