UPDATE: Rockstar have clarified this statement.
Original Story:
Rockstar has released one of the most successful games of all time in Grand Theft Auto 5. They have all the money and prestige in the world to attract more talent to their studio. They also have the luxury of taking time to release their game. And yet, in spite of all of that, it seems they will drive their existing developers to inhuman working conditions in a bid to launch their game, instead of either hiring more people to spread the work load, or simply delaying their game.
In an interview with Vulture, Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser revealed that developers working on the eagerly anticipated Red Dead Redemption 2 worked 100 hour weeks multiple times in 2018 as development on the game neared its end. To make that clear—that’s over 14 hours a day, seven days a week, spent working away on a game. Those are insane working conditions, and it’s shameful Rockstar is still doing this.
In the end, I think it will come down to game developers needing to unionize so they can stand up against poor employment practices such as these. Red Dead Redemption 2 launches for PS4 and Xbox One on October 26.
