10 Things Video Game Developers Wish You Understood Better
3. We Don't Keep Secrets From You For Fun - It's So We Don't Get Canned
If you've been following gaming news recently, you'll likely have been reading about the severe repercussions of signing - and subsequently breaking - an NDA (or, "non-disclosure agreement").
To those not aware, a non-disclosure agreement is a contract a visiting party will sign as a promise not to reveal the things you've seen when visiting.
At a game studio, the most likely thing you'll see is an in-development prototype or partly-completed build of a game currently in development, but it might also extend to details about the studio, or the developers within it. The NDA will outline the things you can discuss freely, too, and include multiple disclaimers so there's no doubt about what you're signing.
Breaking NDA is an extremely serious offence. If developers leak information, they'll be extremely lucky to only be fired on the spot (and blacklisted for life as a game developer to avoid), because the maximum penalty that can be incurred is "all calculated and assumed damage to the product (and studio reputation)".
What this means is, if studio management believe leaking this information has completely damaged hype in the run-up to the product's official marketing, they can, hypothetically, sue the leaker for the cost of all assumed lost revenue - which could be millions.
So, next time you're wondering why we won't tell you anything... it's because we like having jobs, freedom and/or some money for the rest of our lives.