Grand Theft Auto 6 is inching ever closer to release, and it seems that it's crunch time at Rockstar with the game going into its final stages of development.
GTA 6 has seen great success before the game is even released. The trailer for the upcoming title has become one of the most viewed videos on YouTube, and that even with the trailer leaking mere hours ahead of the scheduled release.
Players are also aware that Rockstar are eyeing a 2025 release, and recently it's been revealed that the game is entering the final stages of development, which has prompted Rockstar to make some unpopular decisions, in hopes of keeping leaks to a minimum.
GTA 6 Goes Into Final Stage Of Development
While there is no official release date yet for GTA 6, we know Rockstar is eyeing 2025 for the release and with the news trickling in that the game is entering the final stage of development that release year seems all the more probable.
To keep the game on track and to keep leaks to a minimum, Rockstar did make a statement to its development team, issuing a mandate for employees to come back to the office full-time. Bloomberg picked up the information, revealing what Jenn Kolbe, Head of Publishing at Rockstar, wrote:
Making these changes now puts us in the best position to deliver the next Grand Theft Auto at the level of quality and polish we know it requires, along with a publishing roadmap that matches the scale and ambition of the game.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, many tech companies and game developers moved to a hybrid model, in which employees could work from home or the office. Rockstar was also working on such a model, but it seems to keep information of the upcoming game as close to their chest as possible they want employees to come into the office full-time starting from April 15, 2024.
While Rockstar have pointed out various benefits of in-office work in their statement, there has been some internal backlash to this decision. The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) released a report, strongly condemning Rockstar's "reckless decision".
Union members working at Rockstar call the remote work "a lifeline for many of us at Rockstar" and share doubts over the company reversing to old ways "without a second thought". The option for remote or hybrid work has been especially helpful to people with health issues, disabilities or those who would have to uproot their lives to be closer to one of Rockstar's offices. One worker bemoans that "there has been zero consultation" with affected employees, while another fears "a return to toxic crunch practices".
Rockstar is known for brutal crunch practices, which led to the infamous Rockstar Spouse incident and comparisons between the company and Sauron from Lord of the Rings. While the company has previously said that conditions have been getting better, the pressure of getting GTA 6 out in 2025 and making it as good as possible seem to be taking the company back to the (not-so-good) old days.