Red Dead Redemption 2 launched at midnight last night and, right now, millions of people around the world are playing. It’s been a long wait – a friend told me recently they’d placed their pre-order over two years ago. The reviews, as expected, are positive. I can’t wait to play it.
But I also can’t shake some of the stories I’ve been told by those behind the game – the people who put their lives on hold to get Red Dead Redemption 2 released this week, who poured their sweat and tears and so much of their time into perfecting the thing you’re probably playing right now.
A few of these Rockstar staff have already spoken up, spurred by the ongoing discussion around overtime and crunch culture at the company – and there’s an excellent Kotaku report which crunches the numbers. Some staff have been encouraged by Rockstar to speak publicly. Others were not. Over the past few weeks I’ve talked with people who wanted to share their stories, under condition of anonymity to protect their careers, to further that discussion. They are proud of their work and want Red Dead Redemption 2 to succeed, but desperate to see Rockstar’s production processes changed. The extreme workload staff have faced over the course of this project in particular has taken a toll – on people’s health, relationships and their ambitions of maintaining a career in the games industry. Simply put, some people feel they cannot go through this again.
Rockstar did not respond to Eurogamer’s requests for comment on this article.
“Back when we worked normal hours I never felt anxiety going back into work,” someone at Rockstar Lincoln told me. “But over the past year I have. Under normal circumstances it is work we can do to a very high standard, and we consider ourselves a very capable department. We put a lot of pride in what we do. It’s just the amount of time we’re there. I almost feel guilty, I can’t give 100 per cent of my ability as mentally I’m just shot. And as someone who people look to as an example – that’s been difficult.”