Recently, Rockstar Games has summoned its employees back to the office from remote work. Now, parts of the workforce fear a deterioration of their situation. This could also have an impact on GTA 6 itself.
What are the working conditions at Rockstar Games? At the end of February 2024, the management of Rockstar Games announced that their employees should work in the office again from now on. The final phase of the development of GTA 6 has begun.
The reasons given for the change were increased productivity and safety in the office. All employees are to return to their workplaces for five days a week.
However, this change is met with criticism from some employees. Two of the affected individuals spoke anonymously in a conversation with Aftermath about their situation and their concerns.
“It will never be one hundred percent safe”
What do the employees say? One of the main arguments for the return of employees to the office revolves around the issue of safety. Specifically, it concerns leaks.
Rockstar Games fears that parts of their new game GTA 6 could end up being leaked to the public before its release. According to employees who spoke with Aftermath, this is initially a understandable concern. After all, the first trailer was also released earlier than planned in response to a leak.
However, it makes little difference whether one works in the office or at home. Leaks can happen from anywhere.
In the past, there have been leaks, regardless of what setup we had. For Red Dead Redemption 2, there were leaks around the release of this game. It will never be one hundred percent safe. People will be motivated to spread our content because the interest in the products we create is very high.
An anonymous Rockstar employee via Aftermath
Additionally, it should be noted that the employees of Rockstar Games are often very scattered across various locations worldwide. They usually work with people who are not in the same location anyway.
Employees fear for their health
What does the change bring to the employees? While Rockstar primarily thinks about the timely and safe completion of their blockbuster, the interviewed employees fear for their own health.
In the final phase of development, crunch is not uncommon. This means numerous overtime hours over a long period, which brings the teams to the limit of their capacity. This was the case for Red Dead Redemption 2. The interviewed employees are afraid that this could happen again.
The enormous time and psychological burden could lead some employees to resign. It is a form of ‘quiet firing’ without severance pay.
That parts of the team have already experienced such a burden is an advantage. They could help others cope with the situation, and thus perhaps prevent great talents from leaving the team.
However, this is not ideal. GTA 6 is expected to be released in 2025. An analyst believes the game will be the most important release of all time.
Does productivity really increase in the office? The second argument from Rockstar is also questioned by the interviewed employees.
If you are a programmer, it is much easier for you to work remotely than for other roles that involve acting and similar tasks. But the reality is that most people in the development team probably don’t need to be in the office every day to get their work done.
An anonymous Rockstar employee via Aftermath
The measure is also considered hostile to parents and discriminates against people with disabilities.
Additionally, it should be noted that the employees of Rockstar Games are often very scattered across various locations worldwide. They usually work with people who are not in the same location anyway.
Employees fear for their health
What does the change bring to the employees? While Rockstar primarily thinks about the timely and safe completion of their blockbuster, the interviewed employees fear for their own health.
In the final phase of development, crunch is not uncommon. This means numerous overtime hours over a long period, which brings the teams to the limit of their capacity. This was the case for Red Dead Redemption 2. The interviewed employees are afraid that this could happen again.
The enormous time and psychological burden could lead some employees to resign. It is a form of ‘quiet firing’ without severance pay.
That parts of the team have already experienced such a burden is an advantage. They could help others cope with the situation, and thus perhaps prevent great talents from leaving the team.
However, this is not ideal. GTA 6 is expected to be released in 2025. An analyst believes the game will be the most important release of all time.
