James Delahunty
23 Jan 2010 8:45
Rockstar Games has responded to an open letter attributed to "wives of employees" that alleges Rockstar workers suffer poor working conditions at a certain studio. The letter alleged that Rockstar was pushing employees to the brink at its San Diego studio. Employees were expected to work 12 hour days, including Saturdays, and the company had been dishonest about deadlines, according to the letter.
It demanded that Rockstar change its working practices or face legal action over the threat to workers' health at the studio. On Rockstar's official website, the developer made its first public comments on the allegations in response to fan questions. "As for the stories spreading around the internet, yes we have noticed them. Unfortunately, this is a case of people taking the opinions of a few anonymous posters on message boards as fact," the company stated.
"No business is ever perfect, but Rockstar Games is a tight knit team made up of around 900 supremely talented and motivated professionals, many of whom have worked here for a very long time. We're saddened if any former members of any studio did not find their time here enjoyable or creatively fulfilling and wish them well with finding an environment more suitable to their temperaments and needs, but the vast majority of our company are focused solely on delivering cutting edge interactive entertainment."
"We've always cared passionately about the people working here, and have always tried to maintain a supportive creative environment. There is simply no way Rockstar could continue to produce such large scale, high quality games without this. That being said, making great games is very challenging, which is why we have and will continue to try to keep hold of some of the best talent in the industry and support them in every way we can."