Former Rockstar Staff Encourage Red Dead Redemption 2 Sales Despite Poor Working Conditions

Former and current staff members of Rockstar Games have spoken out about players planning to boycott Red Dead Redemption 2 based on reports of poor working conditions at the studio.

[Skull521]

Yes... show developers support by not buying the game they even spent the last few years of their lives working on... makes perfect sense.

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

There's really no easy way for gamers to address this issue.

It may be controversial to some (to be blunt, some brainwashed Americans who hate unions for some reason) but developers need to push for unionization because these companies will push them for as much as they can take (same issue with micro-transactons). An individual cannot fight alone for better conditons. Only the collective has that bargaining power (common sense).

Right now it's like the early days of other mediums like film. If unions are achievable for film, TV and voice actors, it's possible for game development. That's the logical path forward to curtail this issue.

[Skull521]

More likely what would happen if they unionize their work will just start becoming outsourced and they’ll lose their jobs.

[bluefox755]

They hate unions, because while at one time, they served a purpose, all they do now is destroy industries and line the pockets of the union bosses. The idea that unions do anything productive in a global market is laughable.

[rainslacker]

Unions would do nothing to improve my place in the industry, nor would they have made working conditions any better at any studio I worked at. All they'd do is waste my time with what they feel is important, and take a part of my income. My benefits have been pretty good at all the studios I've worked at, and I've been both a contractor and an employee. They've always paid me fairly. I've been asked to work more, and I obliged, because those studios treated me fairly, and I was on board with making a good product. I didn't need to have to ask the union if that was OK, because I can decide for myself what is OK for me. I have said no to excessive crunch when i couldn't do it for personal reasons. I wasn't fired. But I also endevoured to do what I could to do as much work as I could to make sure the project went on.

There was nothing that the union could have brought to management to improve the production process. Nothing they could have done to make sure crunch didn't happen. Nothing they could have done to get me paid more. Nothing they could have done to protect my job, because I never saw a reason to put my job in jeopardy. Nothing they can do to make sure that projects are released on time.

If you think it's being brainwashed to not want to be part of a union, then you are simply brainwashed by the unions. There are instances where unions can improve working conditions, but the game industry isn't one of them.

There have been pushes for unionization in the industry, and while some have gained traction, union talk shuts down studios, or is vehemently met with rejection by the larger community. On top of that, unions are only relevant in the US, and maybe parts of the EU. Changing things up in those places, at only the studios which allow them, or accept them as a representative of the employees, won't do jack squat, because all that will happen is the producers will stay away from those studios, and publishers will shut those studios down and restart somewhere else.

Sure, collective bargaining power is cool and all, but despite the shortage of labor in the industry, a project would shut down, fire anyone who wished to join, and ultimately, delay the project until they could rehire new staff, or just cancel the game completely. Investors are capable of doing that at any milestone, and union talk makes them uneasy, so they're more likely to cut their losses, since the creation of a union would be extremely disruptive to a project. Despite there being a union, it wouldn't even get anywhere, because those companies would fire those people before they accepted unions as a representative.

Unions stall the creative process, and create higher production costs. It does nothing to help the employee. It does nothing to help the consumer. Unions can't even do representation without forcing themselves further into industries by dictating how things will be done. They try to manage the industries they're in. Ever hear of a union shop? Those limit people from joining if they don't want to join the union, or prefer to represent themselves. Is that a fair thing to you?

Why in God's name should i be for a union, when I am perfectly capable of standing up for my own needs, or expressing my own problems with my occupation? I can do this with respect, and I have yet to be fired, despite being assertive at times I felt it important. If for some reason my needs aren't met, or I am abused in some way, I know what my rights are, and am free to exercise them, or the more likely scenario, I'd just go find another job if I couldn't remedy the situation myself. I don't want to be in a job where there is hostility because I needed someone else to fight my battles for me.

[rainslacker]

Was anyone seriously considering boycotting this game if they had planned on buying it before?

[Ceaser9857361]

I will definitely support this Game. Got the Ultimate edition. But also sad to read those stories employees faced... There is an article regarding it. Its bad what the employees went through...