Earlier this week, a rare interview with Rockstar Games co-founder came out and talked about the development process for Red Dead Redemption 2. One quote from the piece saw Houser talking about certain people working 100 hour work weeks which caused a lot of controversy throughout the industry.
Many developers force employees to contribute overtime hours beyond what you’d see at other jobs late into development, specifically in the final weeks and months before release. It’s a widespread issue at studios large and small and Rockstar has been no stranger to this in the past, even on the first Red Dead Redemption.
The quote caused concern for the staff at Rockstar Games with some comparing it to slave labor but Houser quickly issued a statement which said that only he and three other people on the senior writing team worked three 100 hour work weeks. This was not something forced on other Rockstar employees and was merely an isolated case.
Still, some people were weary as former Rockstar employees like Job Stauffer discussed their time at the company during development for games like Grand Theft Auto IV which took a massive toll on them.
“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,” tweeted Stauffer.
Rockstar took this opportunity to ease up on some of the social media restrictions placed on its employees which requires them to not discuss their work, something which isn’t terribly uncommon in this notoriously secretive industry.
Today, a number of Rockstar employees took the chance to talk about their experiences during the development of Red Dead Redemption 2 as it gears up for launch next week. Rockstar North Technical Animator Geoffrey Fermin shared a post on Twitter and Facebook about how the company has grown over the years.
We have an entire dedicated HR team who really look after us now, and the work environment is as positive and inclusive as it’s ever been. Twice during [the] development of RDR 2, I had two family emergencies, and Rockstar was nothing but supportive,” said Fermin. “My Abuelita passed away unexpectedly, and they were nothing but supportive of me traveling out during a huge milestone at the time to be with my family in saying goodbye to my Abuela. Many of my close friends (Many of which are my colleagues) know my dad was diagnosed with cancer during production of RDR2 and they gave me as much leave as I wanted for as long as I needed to go out to be with my family during a really difficult time.”
Fermin continued and stated that his father is in remission and while he did put in some overtime toward the end of development, it wasn’t forced and he was told by his boss to get rest.
“All these stories the past couple of days have really upset me because it feels like a personal attack on my friends and family I work with here. We have really grown as a company and it feels like sometimes people just want horrible stories to be true,” Fermin continued. “I can’t speak for everyone but I can speak for myself when Isay that I absolutely love working here, and feel respected and valued.”
Music Developer at Rockstar Keith Thorburn noted that he only worked a few hours of overtime (by choice) when he was leaving for a holiday or knew a deadline was coming up. Thorburn noted that he stayed until 2 AM one night, a rare occasion, and his boss assured him that wasn’t necessary.
Thorburn came down with pericarditis at one point, a heart issue which sent him to the hospital. The whole team was very supportive of him and when he returned to work shortly after getting out of the hospital, Rockstar’s HR sent him home early in a taxi, told him to take the week off, and see a doctor who approved his return to work.
“I do want to say that the reaction to these stories from gamers and the game press has been totally understandable! It’s really nice and encouraging to know that the gaming community have our backs and want to support devs and it’s obvious hearts are all in the right place! It’s just a shame that the aim is a bit off, especially right now,” Thorburn said. “After years of work to be really, unbelievably proud of what we’ve made and excited about putting it out there and then see this negativity snowballing is really depressing for me. It’s a very crushing feeling and my heart keeps sinking with every article and angry comment I see about it.”
Thorburn ended his Twitter thread by noting he’s happy and in good health.
Technical Animator Jon Logsdon at Rockstar’s NYC offices chimed in by saying he’s been required to work extensive hours at other studios but hasn’t had that experience during his Rockstar tenure.
“Rockstar makes sure they are checking up on their staff. I have not experienced, or even seen, the level of hours that are depicted in some of these articles, and I’m usually pretty early into the office,” says Logsdon. “You can listen to what I need to say, or not, but don’t punish all of the hard-working devs, like myself, that have put their soul into this game. So many “I’m not gonna buy this game now”. You are punishing all of us working hard cause you don’t know the full facts”
Logsdon continued to express his displeasure about the exaggerated nature of Rockstar’s work ethic and hopes that the negativity won’t affect the outcome of Red Dead Redemption 2.
“You can listen to what I need to say, or not, but don’t punish all of the hard-working devs, like myself, that have put their soul into this game. So many “I’m not gonna buy this game now”. You are punishing all of us working hard cause you don’t know the full facts.”
A number of other employees have continued to share their personal experiences and frustration with the narrative that has been spun surrounding the studio this week on social media. While we won’t put them all here, we recommend viewing Rockstar Lead Artist Miriam Bellard’s Twitter who is retweeting many of the anecdotes from team members.
“I have worked at Rockstar North for four and a half years now. I can only talk about my personal experience not the company as a whole. For me this has been the nicest place I have ever worked with the nicest people. The recent commentary vilifying us has been heartbreaking,” said Bellard herself. “We do care more about people than we do about horse balls! (Although horse balls are of course extremely important).”
Red Dead Redemption 2 releases next Friday on October 26th, 2018 for Xbox One and PS4. You can watch the game’s brand new launch trailer by clicking here.
