Rockstar Games isn’t a rockstar to its employees say wives


Damn, it sure sounds like Rockstar Games in San Diego isn’t the place to be putting your resume. In what resembles more of a lawyer’s brief, a post on Gamasutra written by someone called Rockstar Spouse the case of company mis-management and possibly mistreatment of existing employees is laid out.

Highlighting excessive works hours beyond the normal expected within the software industry ‘Rockstar Spouse’ provides a litany of employee abuses.

Initially, as work pressure in the office increases, so do the stress levels of employees. Recently, with the amount of stress that has been built up, there have been physical manifestations caused by stress making health a concern. It is known that some employees have been diagnosed with depression symptoms and at least one among them is acknowledged to have suicidal tendencies. These will not be ameliorated with a full time masseuse and will only worsen if no change to improve conditions take place and managers continue with their dishonesty of deadlines.

This mistreatment also is extended to the financial aspects of the employees lives:

Working harder, longer, faster, yet there was never a guarantee of a bonus nor if there was any earned, when they will be received! Moreover, bonuses could significantly be reduced based on ANYTHING management comes up with, while the employee would have no way to know about it. Thus bringing to light, the current Rockstar management has grown a thirst for power as it enables itself to grow in the Rockstar’s structure. Besides bonuses, financial appreciation has lacked in other aspects as well. For four consecutive years, salary raises have not adjusted properly to cover inflation. This is especially unjust to those who significantly contribute to projects. Further than unappreciative, employees are disrespected when lied to as a whole on how Rockstar games does not generate money and as claims of justification for unappreciated employees are made pointing to the deficit, meanwhile the last Grand Theft Auto game made over a billion dollars of revenue. “Over a billion dollars of revenue”, so where is the recognition and appreciation to those of whom, without them, such success would not have been made?

Interestingly enough the comments on the original post seem to be backing up much of what is being claimed in the ‘Rockstar Spouse’ post. I know from experience that software development goes in strange cycles as far as work hours are concerned but it sure does seem the Rockstar Games has some serious questions facing it that need to be answered.

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