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Rockstar speaks out regarding San Diego studio accusations
While we've heard from nearly everyone else regarding recent quality of life accusations at Rockstar San Diego (not to mention Rockstar Vancouver and New York), we are just today seeing the first direct response to the claims from Rockstar itself. In a post this afternoon on the company's blog ("Rockstar Newswire"), a representative responds to a fan question on the subject by saying, "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 Rockstar rep also assured readers that Red Dead Redemption -- the San Diego dev studio's latest game -- is on track for its April 27 release in the US, and Rockstar "could not be more excited with how the game is looking and playing." With regards to actually addressing the accusations leveled at the company, the rep was a bit more dismissive. "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." Though the piece admits "no business is ever perfect," it pointedly notes the enormous challenge that comes with "such large scale, high quality games." Unfortunately, there is no mention of the recently released "Eye of Sauron" wallpapers.
Rockstar seemingly responds to 'Eye of Sauron' comment with rad, rude wallpaper
In a surprisingly lighthearted move, Rockstar appears to have responded to recent accusations of overwork (among many other things) with a series of wallpaper designs on its official site. The designs are presumably a comment based on statements made to the MTV Multiplayer Blog from a former Rockstar New York employee who compared the company management's wandering focus to that of the vengeful "Eye of Sauron" -- the fictional all-seeing evil in the Lord of the Rings franchise. The trio of wallpaper designs -- which are not-so-subtly titled, "The Eye" -- may very well mark the first time that Rockstar has responded to claims of mismanagement and overworking its employees. While the wallpaper is certainly stylish enough for our computer backdrop, we can't help but think poking fun at reports that the company has treated its workers like robots is a little classless. Also, we have to wonder how many overtime hours were used to create these totally radical designs.
IGDA issues statement regarding 'Rockstar spouse' accusations
While we've yet to hear anything from Rockstar Games surrounding the repeated allegations of mismanagement and overwork of employees at its San Diego, Vancouver, and New York City studios, the International Game Developers Association has issued a statement denouncing the claimed actions by Rockstar. "In any studio, the IGDA finds the practice of undisclosed and constant overtime to be deceptive, exploitative, and ultimately harmful not only to developers but to their final product and the industry as a whole," it reads. Moreover, it highlights the importance of "events like these" for raising visibility of "quality of life issues in the industry and among the public." It goes on to point out the December 2009 "IGDA Quality of Life survey" that found "over half of the developers surveyed felt that they needed more time for themselves and their families." Perhaps unsurprisingly, nearly every email we've received from Rockstar employees regarding the recent claims has mentioned this exact problem.
Rockstar quietly settled class-action lawsuit with 'over 100' ex-Rockstar San Diego employees
In April of 2009, Rockstar Games settled out of court with with "over 100" Rockstar San Diego employees to the tune of $2.75 million (approximately $27,500 per person). The case, "Garrett Flynn, et al. v. Angel Studios, Inc./Rockstar Games et al.," was filed on August 21, 2006, by ex-Rockstar San Diego 3D artists Terri-Kim Chuckry and Garrett Flynn on behalf of themselves and fellow 3D artists, alleging that Angel Studios/Rockstar San Diego had "failed to pay overtime compensation ... to certain Angel employees whose primary duties are or were to create, produce, copy and/or install images into video games, using commercial or in-house software computer programs." Sound familiar? That's likely due to the past week's barrage of Rockstar Games employees speaking out against alleged quality of life issues at the developer's various studios, including claims of "numerous non-exempt designers and artists have had their overtime pay cut as a result for being 'too senior.'" In a press release issued after the settlement, Rockstar Games refuted the lawsuit's claims. "Angel denies the allegations in the lawsuit and admits no liability or wrongdoing in settlement." The settlement document (obtained earlier today by Joystiq) also spells out Rockstar's reasons for settling the suit, saying "further litigation would be protracted and expensive for all parties." Unsurprisingly, the company also contested in the settlement that a ruling against it was "relatively unlikely" for a number of reasons. That said, when a multi-billion dollar corporation settles a suit with its employees out of court and awards them nearly $3 million in compensation, that's quite a statement unto itself -- regardless of the great lengths at which the final court settlement goes to deny that claim. We've contacted Rockstar Games for comment and haven't heard back as of publishing.
Source: Max Payne 3 development allegedly also suffering from mismanagement
As the week goes on, more and more current and former Rockstar Games employees have come forward to us (and other outlets) with information corroborating the repeated allegations of substandard working conditions at the developer's various studios. Today, however, we received news from a former Rockstar Vancouver employee regarding the status of "late 2010" title Max Payne 3 -- a title currently in development at the Canadian dev house. According to our source (who, unsurprisingly, asked to be kept anonymous), "Virtually everything said in the original 'Rockstar wives' letter and by current and former Rockstar San Diego employees in the comments applies to my experience at Rockstar Vancouver." The source also alleges an "August 2010" completion window for development of the game, though the source isn't optimistic that'll happen. "The game's story just went through another total re-write earlier this month (the third that I am aware of in the past two years) and that [means] the team would have to have all of the content done by April or May to make that August release date." Further claims about the studio range from an "enforced crunch mode through to the end of the project" that results in "14 - 16 hour work days, six or seven days a week" to a canceled two weeks of vacation over the past holidays. We've once again contacted Rockstar Games for comment and have yet to hear back as of publishing. If you are an employee of Rockstar Games and would like to tell us more about your experiences, we'd love to hear what you have to say.
Sources: Red Dead Redemption development in trouble [update]
When we recently spoke with our trusted sources from Rockstar San Diego, in addition to yesterday's information regarding the Midnight Club franchise, we were also told about the allegedly troubled state of Red Dead Redemption. One source said that the game "was a complete disaster for most of 2009 and previous ... it has since turned around a little bit, but there are huge problems with it still." Unsurprisingly, the issues with the game are repeatedly claimed to be the result of mismanagement -- along the same lines as what was mentioned in the recent "Rockstar spouse" letter. "Red Dead [Redemption] has been in production for six years (mainly because of horrible management/lack of direction due to fear of disrespecting Rockstar NY) and it will never get the money back in sales it cost to create for those six years," claimed another source. We asked Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter to estimate how many copies he thinks Red Dead Redemption needs to sell to make back its development costs and, more importantly for Take-Two, to be profitable. "I'd say realistically, if everybody [at Rockstar San Diego] was working on it this whole time -- so let's assume it's four years to be fair [Red Dead Revolver was released in March 2004], that's $40 million (about $10 million a year to run the studio) -- to make that back and just break even you need at least $80 million in sales; 1.75 million units. For profit: $160 million/3.5 million units." Pachter added that "it's got a shot" and that, from what he's seen of the game, "it looks phenomenal." Our sources are less hopeful, unfortunately: "The functional team that was Midnight Club was shattered. All the people who didn't quit or get fired were thrown onto Red Dead Redemption, many of them being demoted. The completely disfunctional team that is RDR was put to top priority. The people who had floundered on that project or outright screwed it up were promoted and are now in complete control of the studio, and they're running it into the ground." We'll have to see when the game arrives in stores this April -- if it does. We contacted Rockstar for comment on this story and have yet to hear back as of publishing. Update: We were contacted regarding this story by one Rockstar source, who told us: "It will take 5 million 4 million sales at full price to recoup the development costs of Red Dead. The good news is they [Rockstar] are not expecting to make money with Red Dead Redemption. At this point, that project is just supposed to prove that the San Diego studio can make a great quality AAA title." If you'd like to contact us regarding this or other stories surrounding the "Rockstar spouse" letter, we'd love to hear from you.
Sources: Rockstar San Diego not working on more Midnight Club games, future games in jeopardy
After last week's Rockstar spouse letter, we got in contact with a couple of trusted sources at Rockstar San Diego to find out more information about exactly what's happening inside the studio. Though our sources asked to be kept anonymous, each independently brought up the poor state of the Midnight Club franchise -- a series traditionally handled by the Rockstar San Diego team. "Jay Panek and Mark Garone, people who were at the company for over 10 years, were fired in 2009 after the completion of Midnight Club: LA ... other major people quit, as they lost hope in the company after the handling of MC:LA and didn't want to work on Red Dead Redemption," one source told us. "The management slowly dismantled the MC team for reasons unknown to most," added another. When we asked if there are any more Midnight Club games planned for development at Rockstar San Diego, we were told, "At first, the team was told there was going to be another. That lasted a few months until the team was told, 'Well, we're going to do another, but it will be all outsourced ... but there will be a core team of 5 - 15 people at RSSD working on it.' Then, after a while longer, it was just not going to happen at all. Rumors abound about what will happen to Midnight Club, but Take-Two want something soon because it was the second highest money maker for Rockstar." The issues surrounding Midnight Club stem from a number of things, according to our sources. "New York management not giving us realistic release schedules" is prime among them, with repeated accusations of last minute changes and mismanaged planning. "Anyone from the New York office is feared, because people in the San Diego office know that they are unstable and needy ... in other words, if a comment comes from a person from New York, it's a mandate that needs to be immediately addressed regardless of previous priorities." We've reached out to Rockstar for official comment, but have yet to hear back as of this publishing. If you work/worked for Rockstar Games and would like to speak to us on or off the record, we're all ears.
Rumor: Wives of Rockstar San Diego rally for better work conditions
According a Gamasutra user blog penned by "Rockstar spouse," working conditions at Rockstar San Diego -- the studio responsible for not just the Red Dead franchise, but also Rockstar's proprietary "RAGE" game engine -- have been deteriorating for quite some time due to "mismanagement." Claims ranging from a neverending "crunch" cycle to lack of appreciation to straight up "dishonesty" are leveled in the post, with a handful of comments (some anonymous, some from verified ex-Rockstar San Diego employees) corroborating, and often adding to, the complaints. "This is EXACTLY the reason I left Rockstar San Diego in February 2009," commented one ex-Rockstar employee. An alleged employee speaking anonymously said, "There were extended core hours, frustrations rising, and then a false promise of the dropping of mandatory Saturdays, which seemed to last for about three such Saturdays." The "Quality of Life" issue discussed in the piece isn't a new one for the games industry. It was first brought up in late 2004 with the "EA Spouse" letter (also anonymous), and again mid last year with Epic Games exec Mike Capps. We've contacted Rockstar and followed up with Rockstar San Diego employees for more information.
