When it comes to video games of any size, a sad indictment of the industry is that it's more surprising to hear that crunch didn't happen. As we inch closer to GTA 6's expected release window of November this year, it seems likely that the devs at Rockstar are putting in hard work to get the crime sandbox ready to ship, but the game's delays have been part of making sure that crunch doesn't happen.
Or at least, that's what Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive, tells Business Insider. According to him, it's not part of the company's remit, and he likens doing so to cramming before a college exam or burning the midnight oil to meet a deadline. "It's sort of like when I was in college," he tells the outlet.
"I never pulled an all-nighter because I was good about doing my homework. You do your homework, you don't pull an all-nighter," he states. We had very, very different experiences when it comes to higher education, but that's beside the point.
It's nice to hear an executive take such a stance against overworking, and that delays are the preferred solution. Games exist because of people working on them, and those staff deserve respect and dignity all through the process.
Unfortunately there have been reports in the past of Rockstar being a tough environment to work in. Bully was something of a nightmare, and according to reports, shipping Red Dead Redemption 2 wasn't far off toiling in the old west. An anonymous Glassdoor review from a QA analyst on the upcoming Grand Theft Auto sequel also alleges harsh conditions within the studio at present.
Beyond crunch, there's an ongoing labor dispute between Rockstar and several former employees who claim they were let go as a form of union-bashing. Demonstrations have been taking place outside the Red Dead and GTA studio's main office in Edinburgh.
All of which is to say, Zelnick may believe Take-Two has higher standards, but certain actual on-the-ground experiences at Rockstar tell a different story. Should GTA 6 actually come out in November this year, hopefully it's without an exorbitant amount of overtime.
