GTA 6 is currently in the final stretch before the long-awaited release. A former developer from Rockstar, who worked on GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, is also curious but equally glad not to be involved in the blockbuster.
Why is the developer glad to have nothing to do with GTA 6? The former Rockstar employee and GTA 5 producer John Ricchio worked at Rockstar from 2003 to 2014. In a conversation with Kiwi Talkz on YouTube, the two discuss Crunch Culture during video game development and he honestly states that he is glad to have nothing to do with GTA 6 at the moment.
This is not due to the people or the forthcoming moment when all the hard work on GTA 6 will pay off. He simply finds himself at a point in his career where he is no longer “quite so open to certain approaches” that would lead to his exit today.
“You can still hire more people. That’s the problem”
What does Ricchio criticize about Rockstar’s practices? Ricchio explains during the conversation that while Rockstar does not reach the level of “I don’t care about the people” regarding Crunch Culture, there are things that are more important to the executives at Rockstar.
He states that Rockstar can afford to demand a lot from its developers since there are always talented people who are very willing to accept this work culture.
I don’t blame these people for taking these jobs, but it makes it harder for the industry to genuinely care because you can always replace people.
Ricchio admits that he would not refuse to be part of the commercial success and the enthusiastic feedback on the hard work done on GTA 6. However, his work ethic stands in the way, one he has developed over his years in the industry:
I have learned a lot about how to approach things differently and build successful art projects, and you don’t have to drive others to burnout for that.
What do you think about this thought from the former developer? Do you find the criticism justified? According to the CEO of Take-Two, crunch times should actually be avoided. That was also the reason why GTA 6 had to be delayed twice. You can read all the background details on MeinMMO: Take-Two CEO does it like back in college, delayed GTA 6 to “do homework well”
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