- Rockstar Games has been accused of allowing critical conditions through employee contracts
- Union members say there is a lack of transparency around salaries and bonuses in the Grand Theft 6 study
- The union accuses the study of ruling out initiatives aimed at addressing gender pay inequality
grand theft car 6 Studio and industry giant Rockstar Games has been accused of unfair working conditions including enabling a crisis culture, failing to address gender-based pay inequality, and weaponizing bonuses.
Three members of the Rockstar Game Workers Union (RGWU) spoke to Game Developer in a large interview, although they wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, and stated that the studio is trying to normalize the crisis.
“The crisis is frequent enough for the company to incorporate into our contracts, as standard, an opt-out option for the Working Time Regulations that prevents your employer from being able to ask you to do more than about 10 extra hours each week,” explained one source, referring to the UK protection that employees can voluntarily give up.
“The union successfully ran a campaign to inform people that they could fall back into the regulations at any time, which resulted in Rockstar management simplifying the process and removing the obligation to meet with HR,” the source added.
“Part of the problem with crunch is that there is no agreed-upon definition, and now it appears that the company thinks that offering specific, limited compensation as an incentive for overtime means it no longer qualifies as crunch.”
While some teams at Rockstar never fail, it is claimed that there are also departments that “never seem to get out of it and often colleagues don’t realize the opposite group exists.”
The interview also includes claims that workers were forced to return to the office and forego the benefits of hybrid or remote work, a mandate that reportedly did not apply to company leaders, and that there is a lack of transparency around salaries and bonuses.
A “considerable portion” of most employees’ compensation packages comes in the form of bonuses that fluctuate, often without obvious justification. The compensation workers receive is claimed to fall below market rate compared to adjacent industry work, with one source saying: “When the bonus is particularly good it can be a windfall, but often the bonus is disappointing and one can end up earning considerably less than expected for the year.
“The reasoning given for this is often confusing, inconsistent between departments, even inconsistent between team members within the same department, and sometimes depends on completely subjective or retroactive criticism.”
Promotions are also said to be difficult to come by at the studio because Rockstar regularly changes goals when it comes to career progression.
“The main problem is that [bonuses and progression are] “It’s all completely discretionary for the company and they have no obligation to show their work,” the source added. “Employees want a good salary, and if literally anything they do that year could affect it, they will naturally feel like they have to be as flexible as possible to their boss’s whims.” Imagine [how you might feel if] “A fifth of his salary could be withheld without any justification or based on a single surprise factor.”
Gender-based pay inequality is another topic that union members discussed, telling Game Developer that the gap between average salaries for different genders has widened at Rockstar and that initiatives aimed at addressing that imbalance have been scrapped.
Unionized workers say all of these issues have created a sense of imbalance and injustice at the studio and they feel that employees are not adequately compensated. GTA 6which will be the biggest game launch of all time.
A spokesperson for Take-Two Interactive provided a statement to Game Developer in response to the claims. It says: “We strive to make the best games possible by providing our talented teams with world-class work environments and ongoing career opportunities. We have fostered a culture that focuses on teamwork, excellence and kindness, and where we support and reward the team at all levels of the business through competitive compensation and benefits policies.
“We are proud that, as a result, our employee retention is well above the industry standard. We have received a request from a union seeking to discuss voluntary recognition. We value an open and constructive dialogue with all interested parties and will arrange a meeting.”
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