An Rockstar employee involved in the development of "GTA 6" disclosed a lot of things inside the studio. The revelation comes after days of protests by recently laid-off employees and the announcement of a six-month delay in the game's release.
An anonymous developer who goes by the pseudonym Organize disclosed details of Rockstar's internal situation on the GTA forums after delaying the announcement. He has confirmed his identity to the forum administrator and is indeed a senior Rockstar Games employee and union member.
He started by saying that what particularly worries him is that many "GTA" players actually believe the excuses Rockstar and Take-Two have given for recent layoffs. Later, the developer detailed how 34 developers were fired. Employees targeted by the company were allegedly asked to attend a "brief friendly meeting" and then received pink slips.
The employee claimed that Rockstar did not provide any proof of the reason for the dismissal. The company has also denied developers union representation in talks. He pointed out that this was actually a breach of UK labor law. The employees were then allegedly forcibly removed from the office. For employees who were not in the Rockstar office that day, the human resources department only made a brief phone call. One of the victim developers had a panic attack while on the phone with HR. In response, the human resources department quickly hung up the phone.
Organize believes that the laid-off employees are all outstanding employees who are dedicated to their duties and hardworking, and their careers at Rockstar span nearly two decades. His responsibilities span all aspects of game development: from lead artist to designers, producers and department heads. Given their talent and experience, finding replacements will be difficult. Sources say this is bound to affect development progress. Regarding the reasons for laying off these employees, Organize revealed that the size of the union had just reached the 200-person threshold two weeks ago. This is consistent with the standard of negotiating with top management on issues faced by employees.
And he said that one of the core problems of the company now is excessive work intensity. Also mentioned were "rigid working conditions" and "low pay". Because the company has failed to resolve these issues and instead clearly adopts a strategy of suppressing labor unions, existing employees are worried that they will become the next batch of layoffs targets. "Studio morale is at rock bottom," a source said. They are afraid to even acknowledge the protests and current predicament.
Just when we should be looking forward to the year ahead, we feel exhausted and our trust in others is gone. All our efforts are to make Rockstar a happier, fairer, safer, and more equal workplace. That's all. What happened makes it clear: We care more about the well-being of our Rockstar colleagues than the company itself.
However, these are only the employee's words for the time being. Rockstar and Take-Two have not yet responded to recent issues, and the development of the incident remains to be seen.