With the launch ofRed Dead Redemption 2,Rockstar Games suddenly found itself criticized for its practice of crunch culture, requiring employees to work absurd hours to get its massive games out on time. Rockstar has apparently taken this criticism to heart and has made some major changes to mitigate these issues in the future, and this includes how it is approaching the development ofGrand Theft Auto 6.
A new report from Kotaku’s Jason Schreier sheds light on how Rockstar has responded to the crunch culture criticisms. In regards to the nextGrand Theft Autogame, which is presumablyGrand Theft Auto 6, the game will release “moderately sized” as opposed to being massive right out of the gate. Schreier noted that the game will still be “large” considering Rockstar’s standards, but fans can expect it to be expanded on with post-launch updates. The goal of this is to “mitigate stress and crunch.”
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Something else that may actually alleviate the crunch culture at Rockstar Games, according to the Kotaku report, is the departure of Dan Houser.Company co-founder Dan House left Rockstar Gamesback in February, and some employees think that this will mean “fewer last-minute rewrites and overhauls” that required them to work excessive hours when developing some of Rockstar’s past games.
However, it’s noted in Kotaku’s report that thenextGrand Theft Autogame"is still early in development." Considering this, it’s possible that Rockstar will resort back to relying on crunch culture when it gets closer to release.
There’s a lot to take away from Kotaku’s report when it comes toGrand Theft Auto 6. For example, it supposedly releasing as a smaller release to be expanded on later is interesting, and could mean that fans won’t have to wait nearly as long to get their hands on the game. On the other hand, the indication thatGrand Theft Auto 6is still early in development could mean that the game is still a number of years away, which contradicts many of the so-called leaks that have pegged theGTA 6release date for 2021.
Grand Theft Auto 6rumorshave been swirling for quite some time, but if the game truly is early in development, it seems safe to say that most of those rumors and “leaks” can be dismissed.
