It's remarkable how someone will always find a way to lambast successful companies even if it means faulting them for becoming successful and relevant in the first place.
Sorry but I'm going to call out bad work practices that run counter to building a better product when I see it regardless of the success.
Crunch destroys lives(remember easpouse?) and has no place in that industry.
I've done it (in games, in 2 other startups, and in finance). I still do it now sometimes when waves of unrelated work all happen to peak near the same time.
Manage adequately, hire more people if necessary. There are other solutions that going "welp, we're successful, better work even more hours now".
There's literally no reason for this other than exploiting developers for more money.
Software can be made without forcing people to work insane hours. Other sectors of the programming field accomplish this, yet games companies are somehow incapable? No, they clearly use and abuse people who have a passion for making games.
So now all we have to do is make working "crunch hours" for months illegal, since you don't have the ability to determine what's ethical or not for "successful" companies unless the law literally tells you, apparently.
Game companies can become successful without abusing programmers who are passionate about making games.
I find that assertion far more remarkable.
you make it sound like this article is nitpicking uncomfortable chairs in the office. they're calling out deplorable working conditions.