Bloomberg reports that Rockstar staff are being asked to return to in-person work at its offices full time, with development of Grand Theft Auto 6 heading into its “final stages.”
The outlet says it has reviewed an email from Rockstar Head of Publishing Jenn Kolbe to staff, informing them that a return to office will begin in April and citing “productivity and security reasons” for the new mandate. “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,” Kolbe reportedly wrote.
For a game that has as much potential impact as the next GTA, and especially one that’s suffered multiple leaks of both in-development footage and official marketing, the desire to keep everything in-house in the crucial later stages of development makes some sense. Though with how much turmoil the games industry is facing currently including very recent mass layoffs at PlayStation and EA, and how much data is out there to show that fully remote work doesn’t impact productivity while preventing the need for developers to relocate at the risk of being laid off, it’s naturally not good news for all.
“Grand Theft Auto VI continues our efforts to push the limits of what’s possible in highly immersive, story-driven open-world experiences,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games when the company dropped its debut trailer in December of last year. “We’re thrilled to be able to share this new vision with players everywhere.”
“Grand Theft Auto VI heads to the state of Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond in the biggest, most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series yet.”
