A new report from Bloomberg has unveiled new details about the next major Grand Theft Auto entry, as well as how Rockstar is changing its image.
Since 2018, Rockstar has been working behind the scenes to clean up its “frat-boy culture”, which according to some employees would be “full of drinking, brawling and excursions to strip clubs.”
This “frat-boy culture” work environment would be in addition to the long hours of crunch and allegations of abusive behaviour by top management.
To help improve themselves, Rockstar is trying to be more culturally and politically sensitive, with the removal of transphobic jokes from the latest GTA V re-release. And the cancellation of a mode called Cops ‘n’ Crooks in the wake of the BLM movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
This rare look inside Rockstar Games and the development of Grand Theft Auto VI is based on interviews with more than 20 people who either work there or left very recently. Read the whole story here: https://t.co/8VlTh63uNm
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) July 27, 2022
Bloomberg’s report interviewed 20 people who worked at Rockstar or left recently, one employee said about the changes, that it has transformed from “a boys’ club transformed into a real company.”
Other changes in the company include hiring contractors as full-time employees, firing abusive managers, and new mental health and leave benefits.
Rockstar has also implemented that excessive overtime won’t be required for employees working on GTA VI. And to help avoid overtime and crunch, Rockstar has more producers to keep track of schedules and help in the long run.
This company culture shift has also improved morale to higher than it’s ever been.
This new and improved Rockstar is also translating into their next game, GTA VI by including a playable female protagonist who is a Latina and will be one of two leading characters. GTA VI’s story is being influenced by the real-life bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde.
While all these changes to the company are for the great good, it has caused some issues such as a longer and slower development time for GTA VI.
Even though details about Grand Theft Auto VI are still slim, analysts are expecting that game to launch sometime between April 2023 through March 2024, which is Take-Two’s 2024 fiscal year.
However, like some of Rockstar’s past titles, the game could easily be delayed further into 2024 or even 2025.
