Rockstar Games calls off remote work, citing leaks in the run-up to releasing the new Grand Theft Auto VI

In an electronic mail to employees on Wednesday reviewed by Bloomberg, Rockstar Head of Publishing Jenn Kolbe stated the choice was made for productiveness and safety causes. The corporate has confronted a number of safety breaches together with a large dump of early footage from the brand new Grand Theft Auto and an early trailer that leaked in December.

Kolbe wrote that the corporate additionally discovered “tangible advantages” from in-person work. “Making these adjustments now places us in the very best place to ship the subsequent Grand Theft Auto on the degree of high quality and polish we all know it requires, together with a publishing roadmap that matches the size and ambition of the sport,” she wrote.

Return-to-office mandates have been a scorching matter throughout numerous industries for the reason that pandemic compelled myriad workers to make money working from home. Extra not too long ago, many employers have requested employees to return to the workplace for 2 or three days a week. A research final month discovered that distant work didn’t have an effect on productiveness.

The problem has been significantly controversial amongst video-game staff because of the volatility of the trade and its lack of a centralized workforce. A lot of 2023’s largest video-game hits, reminiscent of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 from Insomniac Video games, had been developed remotely.