Rockstar Games employees were told they can respond to journalist inquiries, if anyone reaches out to them individually regarding working conditions. All of which stemmed from concerns when Dan Houser, Co-Founder and Vice President of Creativity at Rockstar, bragged about the 100-hour work weeks that went into Red Dead Redemption 2. It was a statement which he later said applied to only a few team members and was “optional.”
Employees have also been encouraged to speak out on social media, if they wish. Vivianne Langdon, a Tools Programmer from Rockstar San Diego, has done so on in a Twitter thread.
I’m “non exempt” so my overtime pay starts at 1.5x salary and scales to 2x after 8 hours of OT in a week or 12 hours in a single day, in accordance with California law. Also, I have only been asked to work on weekends once or twice in my entire time at R* on the Tools team.
— Vivianne Langdon (@viiviicat) October 18, 2018
Others, such as six-year Rockstar employee Wesley Mackinder, have voiced similar sentiments.
Just to add a concrete example of what I’m talking about. During the dev. of RDR I sometimes worked 50 hours during the week. This was on and off for a few months. And by on and off I really do mean off. Some weeks I just worked a flat 40 and there was zero issues with this.
— Wesley Mackinder (@WesleyMackinder) October 18, 2018
Although Rockstar employees have gotten the green light from corporate to speak out about this alleged crunch, those who have spoken out negatively are either ex-employees or anonymous. As Vivianne Langdom stated later in her thread, one experience never speaks for everyone.
I do not feel personally that I am overworked or being mistreated. That said, I do not want this to diminish any others’ stories should they arise, and I don’t wish to imply that this industry is perfect. My goal is only to share my personal experience at R*.
— Vivianne Langdon (@viiviicat) October 18, 2018
With this in mind, it still raises suspicions. Perhaps current employees at Rockstar don’t feel comfortable speaking publicly and negatively about a company they’re currently working for. Who among us would? Especially considering the fact that the Rockstar team is surely watching social media closely for public relations reasons.
For instance, Job Stauffer, who previously worked in a PR role at Rockstar ten years ago, had a much darker perspective.
It’s been nearly a decade since I parted from Rockstar, but I can assure you that during the GTA IV era, it was like working with a gun to your head 7 days a week. “Be here Saturday & Sunday too, just in case Sam or Dan come in, they want to see everyone working as hard as them.” https://t.co/TaQS5LnaAa
— Job J Stauffer (@jobjstauffer) October 16, 2018
On the more modern side of things, VG247 reports that a number of anonymous developers from Rockstar Games with comments from both sides of the spectrum. They stated things like, “It’s really not [a hellish place to work], we’re rewarded very well and crunch is never mandatory.” Another employee claimed different departments get different treatment, stating “I doubt you’ll see many tweets from Design or QA… I’ve done 50+ hour weeks as a standard since I started. Even if there is no work…”
We’ll provide more on this story as it develops.
[Source: VG247 and GameIndustry.biz]
