If the last week in gaming has proven anything to us, it’s that the state of the industry is in a rather precarious position. There is no one safe from the layoffs that keep dropping, and more games are getting canceled as a result of it. As if that’s not enough, certain companies like Electronic Arts are retreating to live-service games and sports titles to help “ensure their success” rather than putting faith in all sorts of gaming titles. Adding to these issues, companies like Rockstar Games are forcing their employees to return to their offices in April despite having them work remotely for several years now.
As we reported yesterday when the news came out, the Independent Worker’s Union of Great Britain released a statement about the situation and noted that this was a bad move by Rockstar Games and how it broke their promises to their employees by enforcing this. They asked for “transparency” and fairness from the higher-ups.
Then, today, as noted by VGC, multiple employees sent personal messages about why this was a bad idea and how this hurts them in the long run. One employee said:
“After so many broken promises we now fear management may even be paving the way for a return to toxic ‘crunch’ practices. Senior leadership need to rethink their reckless decision making and engage with their staff to find an arrangement that works for everyone.”
To be clear, Rockstar said previously that they wouldn’t “return to a five-day office work week” like things had been during the pandemic. But now? They are indeed enforcing that, and those who have become used to the benefits of remote work are being affected heavily:
“Working from home has been a lifeline for many of us at Rockstar, allowing us to balance care responsibilities, manage disabilities, and relocate as we need. Now, Rockstar is snatching away that lifeline without a second thought for the workers who’ll be impacted most.”
According to the workers, none of them were consulted or approached about returning to the office full-time, which implies that Rockstar “didn’t care” about their feelings and merely wanted to do this to benefit themselves. One of the Rockstar leads said there were “tangible benefits” to working in-office, and while that might be true, there are also MANY “tangible benefits” to working from home.
Rockstar is also infamous for pushing their employees hard to get games done, and that kind of culture is not welcome in the gaming space. Only time will tell how far they revert toward “old habits.”
