Just after the temporary closure of the ZERO, the body that classifies games in Japan, reassuring communications arrive from the West. Employees of the PEGI and ESRB will continue to work remotely, at least until the end of the global emergency currently underway which has caused many postponements including that of Hellpoint, the action RPG developed by Cradle Games. Unless something really serious happens, the games in the European and North American territory will therefore continue to be evaluated and ranked without too many problems.
The ESRB, the entity that operates in North America, has been working from home for several weeks already and so far there have not been too many problems with assignments. Below is the official communication:
Thanks to advance planning, from 16 March we operate remotely due to COVID-19. We found no delay in assigning ratings. We will continue to distribute assessments in this way for as long as necessary.
Even in Europe PEGI is not doing too badly: the impact of working from home is minimal and will persist until a possible change in safety measures.
In short: yes, we are currently working remotely with minimal impact on our operations. When this situation began to manifest itself in Europe a couple of weeks ago, we quickly found a way to continue our day-to-day operations by working remotely. Since PEGI (in Brussels) works with two independent directors who look after many publishers without having to meet them in person, collaborating remotely is always part of our daily routine.
