Poor working conditions for game developers are openly talked about in the industry, with the letter from the “EA Spouse” likely being the most infamous example of how long hours can negatively affect relationships, families and personal health. And while companies have taken steps in recent years to improve developers' quality of life, there's certainly plenty of room for improvement. Today, someone claiming to represent the “Devoted Wives of Rockstar San Diego employees” issued an open letter to Gamasutra complaining about their husbands' quality of life issues.
“The managers at Rockstar San Diego continue in their dishonesty, pushing their employees to the brink promising temporariness fully equipped with the knowledge of another deadline just around the corner,” reads the curiously worded letter. “The reigns whip again, and it becomes mandatory to work close to twelve hours a day including Saturdays, regardless if an employee has finished all his duties prior. These, yes all these are horrendous, yet what makes it unacceptable has yet to come.”
The letter goes on to note that the developers of the upcoming Read Dead Redemption lost their promised vacation time between Christmas and New Year's Day. Despite the high stress levels imposed on the employees, medical benefits have apparently been stripped and overtime pay is cut for “senior” members. “With unsuitable behavior from a newly promoted studio manager that vulgarly speaks the F word in most sentences and those who refuse to look at the workers' faces as they pass in the hall, it is clear their attempt to ignore the injustice they have implemented on their once valued and appreciated employees,” opines the letter. “Perhaps it should be them who explain to our children and loved ones the absence of their increasingly frustrated fathers.”
On the matter of compensation, employees have apparently not been promoted to compensate for inflation and bonuses are often stripped out or significantly reduced. The letter gripes that despite the fact that the Grand Theft Auto series has generated over a billion dollars in revenue, Rockstar is considered a money losing operation.
“Conclusively, if these working conditions stay unchanged in the upcoming weeks, preparation will be made to take legal action against Rockstar San Diego. This is the course that naturally presents itself, as either these conditions were manufactured from unawareness and actions to improve conditions will prove such innocence. Or if no action is seen after this letter, it clear that other aspects are the cause of the deteriorated conditions of Rockstar San Diego employees and must be further addressed. Rest assure, all that is desired is compensation for health, mental, financial, and damages done to families of employees,” concludes the letter.
4 Comments
January 12, 2010
That's a shame, especially since RDR is one of my most anticipated games.
January 12, 2010
I always thought that if a team works an ungodly amount of overtime, even if their game/effort fails at retail, they should be rewarded for effort. Something like:
Failed Effort - steak dinner
Break-even Effort - steak dinner and a couple days off
Super Successful Effort - Round Trip tickets for two on Virgina Atlantic
January 12, 2010
It would probably help their case if they chose a spokesperson who could, you know, string a few words together in a fashion that makes sense to people reading them.
Having said that though, good luck chaps.
January 12, 2010
kortcomponent:
Yeah, the letter was a bit painful to read in parts because it was just so oddly worded. It's sad that the industry is still crushing marriages with the cycle of grind.