A few days back, Rockstar Games co-studio head Dan Houser inadvertently kicked off something of a controversy when he claimed that Rockstar employees had worked a few 100 hour weeks in 2018 during the crunch period of Red Dead Redemption 2 as the game’s launch drew closer. He later clarified that statement, saying that no one was forced to work overtime, and that the 100 hour weeks statement was applicable only to a select few senior members of the game’s writing staff, and only for three weeks.
In the time since then, we’ve also heard from people who in the past have worked at Rockstar, and claim to have been subject to horrible working conditions during their tenure. However, it seems Rockstar has now taken steps to clear away any confusion, and has allowed people working at all studios under the Rockstar umbrella to share their own experiences about the development of Red Dead Redemption 2.
As such, a number of current Rockstar employees have stepped forward on Twitter, many of whom have stated that they’ve never worked 100 hour weeks at Rockstar, nor have they been forced to do so by any senior staff at the studio, and that if they have worked overtime, it has been at their own discretion (you can see several of these tweets at the bottom of this post).
For instance, Danny Bannister, vehicle artist at Rockstar North, says that even though there was some crunch during the game’s development, the most he ever worked during that period was one sixty hour week. “I know for a fact that my lead would’ve sent me home if I even attempted 100 hrs a week,” he says. “That’s just not how it’s done here.”
Phil Beveridge, Senior Code Content Developer at Rockstar North’s statements are also along the same line. “Will preface this with a note about how this is my own personal experience at North, and things might not be the same at other studios or departments,” he writes. “I have never worked a 100-hour week. Nobody should work a 100-hour week, that’s a frankly ridiculous number. I have also never been forced to work overtime, or felt that not doing overtime would in some way impact my career. On average, I’ll do somewhere between 40 to 45-hour weeks, and that can go up to to around 60 for a week or two when deadlines loom. But this is of my own accord, and part of me being a perfectionist with the work I do.”
Dave Alden, environment artist at Rockstar North says that “things have only improved in all aspects” in the seven years that he’s worked at the studio. On the other hand, Tom Fautley, tools designer at Rockstar North, also raises some interesting points, saying that he’s “asked, encouraged, and expected” to work overtime as deadlines approach, and that even though he’s never worked 100 hour weeks, he has “seen friends get closer to that figure than is healthy”.
“A typical week during crunch for me would be somewhere around 45-50 hours,” Fautley wrote. “I have colleagues that definitely have worked a lot more though. As someone with health issues linked to stress and anxiety, it’s not always great.” In a separate tweet, he mentioned that he did once work a 79 hour week, but that was “not recently”. “I do still enjoy my work, and I’m happy enough working here,” he concludes. “But I think it should be better. I should stress that these are my personal feelings on the matter only.”
It also seems Rockstar has told all developers working at all of its studios to be completely honest about their experiences, to talk about the good and the bad, and to not sugarcoat anything. Vivianne Langdon, tools programmer at Rockstar San Diego says that Rockstar has granted all its employees permission to “speak frankly about this issue on social media”. Similarly, Wesley Mackinder, environment artist at Rockstar North, says “every studio working on the project have been told they’re free to speak openly and honestly” about the current situation.
A number of these tweets have been compiled below for you to see for yourself, but do keep in mind that there’s a lot, lot more. Take a look at a few of them below.
Red Dead Redemption 2 launches on October 26 for the PS4 and Xbox One.
Rich Rosado, Producer (Rockstar Games):
Just wanted to point out that I was never asked to work anything near a 100 hour work week in the 18+ years I have been working at Rockstar. Overtime? At my own discretion, yes.
— Rich Rosado (@RichRosado) October 18, 2018
Danny Bannister, Vehicle Artist (Rockstar North):
https://twitter.com/BeardyDan3D/status/1052858607287627776
https://twitter.com/BeardyDan3D/status/1052859354465095685
Phil Beveridge, Senior Code Content Developer (Rockstar North):
https://twitter.com/philcsf/status/1052877323941408768
https://twitter.com/philcsf/status/1052880075761172482
https://twitter.com/philcsf/status/1052881710092816385
https://twitter.com/philcsf/status/1052887017745408001
Vivianne Langdon, Tools Programmer (Rockstar San Diego):
https://twitter.com/viiviicat/status/1052767682250981376
https://twitter.com/viiviicat/status/1052767683324784641
https://twitter.com/viiviicat/status/1052767686097162240
https://twitter.com/viiviicat/status/1052767688655683584
Lucy Burbidge, Technical Content Artist (Rockstar North):
https://twitter.com/lucyofrivia/status/1052892730744074240
https://twitter.com/lucyofrivia/status/1052892732996370432
https://twitter.com/lucyofrivia/status/1052892735026413568
Craig Vincent, Senior Gameplay Systems Designer (Rockstar Games):
I feel it’s more important in today’s current climate to share our positive experiences too. Negativity always seems to travel louder and faster. But for me personally I’ve never experienced pressure from above to work more than I’m comfortable with…2/6
— Craig Vincent (@rockycv13) October 18, 2018
At times I’ve even been told the opposite and to go home! When Rockstar gets labelled as a company that bullies its employees into working the long hours, it kind of does a disservice to those of us here that don’t feel that way. That’s just not the culture I've experienced…3/6
— Craig Vincent (@rockycv13) October 18, 2018
Wesley Mackinder, Environment Artist (Rockstar North):
https://twitter.com/WesleyMackinder/status/1052834779786371072
https://twitter.com/WesleyMackinder/status/1052841024031268864
https://twitter.com/WesleyMackinder/status/1052921398337921024
Dave Alden, Environment Artist (Rockstar North):
https://twitter.com/Sloppydj/status/1052869482882850817
https://twitter.com/Sloppydj/status/1052869487207305216
Tom Fautley, Tools Designer (Rockstar North):
As a worker at Rockstar North, I should probably add my voice to the conversation going on around crunch. We do crunch. I've not seen anybody forced to work 100 hour weeks, but I've definitely seen friends get closer to that figure than is healthy.
— Tom Goodwin (@tfgoodle) October 18, 2018
I am asked, encouraged and expected to work overtime (both nights and weekends) when coming up to a big deadline. The most I've ever worked in a single week during my nearly-five years here has been 79 hours, but that was not recently.
— Tom Goodwin (@tfgoodle) October 18, 2018
A typical week during crunch for me would be somewhere around 45-50 hours. I have colleagues that definitely have worked a lot more though. As someone with health issues linked to stress and anxiety, it's not always great.
— Tom Goodwin (@tfgoodle) October 18, 2018
I do still enjoy my work, and I'm happy enough working here. But I think it should be better. I should stress that these are my personal feelings on the matter only.
— Tom Goodwin (@tfgoodle) October 18, 2018
Zoë Sams, Tools Producer (Rockstar North):
https://twitter.com/zoegsams/status/1052847640399020032
https://twitter.com/zoegsams/status/1052847642869465088
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