SUMMARY
- GTA 6 developers are unhappy with Rockstar Games' recent decision.
- Rockstar Games decided to call its developers back to the offices after allowing them to work remotely.
GTA 6 is easily one of the most hyped games of all time. In development for reportedly over 10 years, Rockstar Games seems to be cooking up a masterpiece. The game has started breaking records even before its release.
The trailer for GTA 6 managed to garner in more than 100 million views on YouTube within 24 hours of its release, with several creators recreating the trailer in various other mediums. The game made so many waves including the number of plays increasing for Tom Petty’s ‘Love is a Long Road’ on Spotify.
With the release date set for 2025, the game seems to be in its final days of development, Rockstar Games seems to have made the decision to call its developers back to the office with 5-days working in a week after they were asked to work remotely. However, this decision seems to not have gone well with the developers.
GTA 6 developers fear crunch that plagued previous title developments
Rockstar Games is famously known for their Grand Thet Auto series. GTA games are recognized for their fun gameplay, freedom and unhinged content of the game in the form of characters, parodies and many other elements. However, GTA is also infamously known for the crunch culture behind their developments. This applies to Red Dead Redemption as well.
According to reports, Rockstar Games is known for overhauling projects at the last minute, causing developers to put in extra hours and weekends, that is, ‘crunching’. There are also reports of Rockstar Games previously having a toxic workplace and encouragement of crunch, however, that changed in 2022. Many developers were approached and they mentioned that Rockstar had made several measures to ensure a ‘no crunch’ workplace.
With GTA 6 in active development, the developers were asked to return to offices by Rockstar, however, the affected developers are in fear of the crunch culture returning during the final stages of GTA 6’s development.
Rockstar devs are unhappy with forced return to full-time office working for GTA 6’s final stretch of development pic.twitter.com/xhuBPwEiE3
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) February 29, 2024
One Rockstar developer reportedly told Independent Workers Union of Britain: “After so many broken promises we now fear management may even be paving the way for a return to toxic ‘crunch’ practices. Senior leadership need to rethink their reckless decision making and engage with their staff to find an arrangement that works for everyone,”
“As usual, there has been zero consultation with us: the people who these policy changes most affect. Just one of my concerns is being forced to work late hours in the office to maintain contact with global teams when before we could log on from home to attend late meetings,” another developer added.
Some developers also mentioned that Rockstar Games promised a flexible remote work option, however, that promise is not being fulfilled after the recent decision. The development of GTA 6 might be shaken as a rift is forming between Rockstar Games and its developers.
Will GTA 6 release in early 2025?
Rockstar Games’ decision to call back the developers to office seems to have several layers. Jenn Kolbe, the Head of Publishing at Rockstar Games stated: “Making these changes now puts us in the best position to deliver the next Grand Theft Auto at the level of quality and polish we know it requires, along with a publishing roadmap that matches the scale and ambition of the game,”
One of the main reasons for the decision can be security concerns, as GTA 6 is definitely no stranger to leaks. GTA 6 had one of the biggest leaks in gaming history as the early footage and images were leaked on to the internet by the hacker, Arion Kurtaj. Rockstar Games would want to prevent any other information leaks that may jeapordise the entire development cycle for GTA 6.
GTA 6 officially enters its final stages of development this April and is more likely to launch in early 2025, as employees are set to return to office 5 days a week to “deliver quality level and polish that matches its scale and ambition,” said Rockstar’s Head of Publishing. pic.twitter.com/iACong880s
— GTA 6 Countdown ⏳ (@GTAVI_Countdown) February 28, 2024
The statement by Kolbe supports the theory that GTA 6 is indeed in its final stages of development and may go through several layers of polish and overhauls before the final product is released. It also supports the fact that Rockstar Games is indeed pushing for an early 2025 release.
