![]() Some workers say they're still trying to figure out how to make games at this new iteration of Rockstar and wonder even what a Grand Theft Auto game looks like in today's environment. Much of that has to do with the pandemic, but the delay is also due to some of the changes that the company implemented in an effort to improve working conditions, such as a restructuring of the design department and a pledge to keep overtime under control. But the development of Grand Theft Auto VI has been slower than impatient fans and even longtime employees have expected. Morale across the company is higher than it's ever been, according to many staffers. One employee described it as “a boys' club transformed into a real company.” A spokesman for Rockstar declined to comment.Ĭan a kinder, gentler Rockstar still produce the chart-topping caliber of game the studio has become known for? Some employees aren't sure. Since that outcry, Rockstar has attempted to reinvent itself as a more progressive and compassionate workplace, according to interviews with more than 20 people who work there or left recently, all of whom requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. ![]() ![]() It also led to burnout, attrition and a public controversy in 2018 that prompted hundreds of Rockstar employees to speak out about the difficult work environment. That strategy was financially successful and turned Grand Theft Auto V into the second-best selling game of all time, with 165 million copies sold. ![]() The company was an early symbol of an industry-wide problem of long hours at the office, known as crunch, in which staff were expected to be at their desks many nights and weekends in order to keep a game on schedule. ![]() Rockstar employees described a workplace culture full of drinking, brawling and excursions to strip clubs. Inside the company, the tone wasn't much different. Grand Theft Auto 5 was a nihilistic parody that threw insults at everything, from right-wing radio hosts to liberal politicians. Moves like these once seemed unthinkable for a company whose best-selling franchise is a satirical depiction of America that involves playing gangsters who kill civilians and where women are mostly depicted as sex objects. ![]()
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