Unverified anonymous blog post lists number of alleged problems at the studio
An anonymous blog post has fired out an extraordinary allegation that the working conditions at Rockstar San Diego are so poor that it’s beginning to affect the physical health of staff.
A Gamasutra blog post, written by someone calling themself ‘Rockstar Spouse’, alleges that working conditions at the San Diego studio have deteriorated for ten months.
Accusations claim that the San Diego employees need to work 12-hour days, in a working week that spills over into Saturdays, of face disciplinary action.
“In the last years, there have also been many cuts on benefits despite the increasing demands on employees,” the anonymous author continued.
The blog post goes on to make a number of dangerous allegations which, if found to be true, would severely impact on Rockstar’s reputation.
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Rockstar was not available on several occasions when approached by Develop.
Rockstar San Diego is currently developing Red Dead Redemption.
I find these allegations by this spouse to be silly. They obviously know nothing about regular working conditions in the U.S. They should be thankful their spouses have jobs. They're going through exactly what the rest of us are. I don't work in the gaming industry but this is just like every other working American the last couple years.
This Captcha code is funny. It's grumbles and work. How perfect for this story.
Guys come on, you do some good stuff but seriously, one blog, no confirmed sources, no specifics. I really think you should have done a bit more groundwork before running with this. All may or may not be well at Rockstar but this hardly nails it does it? I think Develop is better than this story as it stands
I’m glad that this story is being met with scepticism, Dave. It certainly was intended to.
Though it’s unlikely that the ‘San Diego spouse’ would have ever given her real name, we agree that the source and its accusations are flimsy.
But we discussed the issue and decided that it couldn’t simply be ignored – quality of life is one of the most important issues in game development, and this, even if partly true, was a clear call for help.
You might find it reassuring that, before approaching the story, I made numerous calls to various Rockstar contacts based in the UK, with the US arm of the company unavailable due to time zones.
Failing to get through to anyone, despite repeated attempts, I wrote the above news item with an intention to outline the complaints while also clarifying how unverified the blog post was.
You may also notice that there is no embellishment on the quotes we’ve sourced. The blog post itself fires out a number of accusations that – in my view – would be irresponsible to reprint without some form of verification. Some are, without question, highly defamatory, and I’m shocked that other media outlets are reprinting them.
Trust us, this is not a story that we like to write. If true it means that a number of devs are in a bad position, and if false then a highly-respected company has been misrepresented by the mass-media.
I think that the worst case scenario, however, is that a group of developers called for help and Develop – a publication for the development community – took no action.
Also, thanks for the feedback, we do take it all on board.
I don't see why the games industry can't aim for better than the average American's working conditions (if it really is as bad as you claim.) Apart from anything else, 12 hours a day, 6 days a week just isn't productive.
How is it so hard to believe? This is a company that expects everything in striving to perfection. A company with enough cultural kudos to draw willing workers like moths to a flame, all wanting to be a part of the phenomena that is R*. The wives might be angry, but it's partly misdirected. Ultimately the employees make their own decision to stay. I don't condone the company's behaviour, but it's a two way street.
Rockstar don't comment on anything, the one or two times they did it bit them. I'm surprised you even bothered.
