Developers Behind GTA VI Lambast Rockstar’s Sudden Return-To-Office Mandate

Many of the developers behind Grand Theft Auto VI, the upcoming heist thriller likely to set sales records upon release, have criticized Rockstar Games for its decision to resume mandatory full-time in-office work. News of the decision broke on Wednesday after Bloomberg reported the company had informed employees via email that they’d be required to return to offices in April, with Head of Publishing Jenn Kolbe writing that in-office work had “tangible benefits” relating to security concerns and productivity. This mention of security issues likely refers to the massive Grand Theft Auto VI leak that took place in 2022.

Unsurprisingly, many developers behind the upcoming game are not pleased with this sudden announcement. In correspondence with IGN, multiple employees spoke out against the company, accusing Rockstar of “broken promises” regarding their work-from-home policy. According to the report, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) had been in contact with Rockstar’s workers, who claimed the company had previously communicated that flexible work options would remain going forward. As a result, many employees relocated further away from the studio’s locations in Edinburgh, Scotland, and elsewhere. One employee affected by the abrupt change explained that working from home was essential for “allowing us to balance care responsibilities, manage disabilities, and relocate as we need.” The IWGB alleged the company will cut off access to its remote access technology on April 15, giving some employees only six weeks to potentially relocate.

The same employee also indicated to IGN that the shift back to in-person may be signaling “a return to toxic ‘crunch’ practices,” with another worker explaining that the change would likely mean “being forced to work late hours in the office to maintain contact with global teams,” which would mean “missing out on spending time with our families.” Over the years, Rockstar Games has been at the center of numerous workplace controversies, including employees being subject to 100-hour workweeks and accusations of sexual assault, which eventually resulted in the company signaling it would attempt to change its culture.

In the last few years, return-to-office mandates have been a contentious issue in the game industry, with developers at Ubisoft Montreal similarly being forced to resume in-person work after being promised the contrary and Activision Blizzard recently announcing it would make its developers do the same. Earlier this week, it was revealed that the studio behind the controversial crowdfunded game Star Citizen had laid off employees unable to capitulate with a return to in-office work.

On top of studies finding that remote work doesn’t negatively impact productivity, this issue is particularly relevant to the videogame industry due to its volatile labor market. The last few months have seen an endless procession of layoffs in game development. This instability is even more untenable when you consider that workers need to relocate and uproot their lives for each and every fickle new gig, a situation best represented by how Blizzard recently forced employees to relocate back near their offices and then fired many of them anyway. For a large number of former devs, this constant cycle of moving from one expensive city to the next is what caused them to call it quits and find work outside of making games, leading to a persistent brain drain that hurts this medium and the people who bring it to life.