No wonder they keep delaying. Comments from a former Rockstar Employee

[Morten]

Originally posted by Former Employee at Rockstar - QA Tester in Edinburgh, Scotland (UK):

I worked at Rockstar Games as a contractor (less than a year)

Very poor technology that is simply out of date. Ridiculous deadlines that overlap. It is rare to go one week where you aren't asked to work late or come in at the weekend with little notice. QA testers believe they are actually helping make the game and have a strange rivalry with actual developers causing friction and tension within the company. Most staff members are Sony, Microsoft or console fanboys and replace technical knowledge with blind devotion to a console. This causes more friction within the company and it is scary how little the staff know technically. Many developers seem truly lazy and out of their depth and it is no surprise that Rockstar ends up delaying games constantly. This is shown through a developers lack of interest in changing something that is fundamentally wrong which would in turn improve the game for millions of fans around the world. They simply "know best" and refuse to change.

Advice to Management
-Realise that most people want to work and live
-Hire more staff instead of relying on people working every day away in an office to meet deadlines that simply cannot be met
-Stop the culture of fear and stop thinking people should be grateful for being allowed to work for your prestigious company

- Doesn't Recommend
- Negative Outlook
- Disapproves of CEO

Read more at http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Rockstar-Games-RVW5105591.htm

[Santac]

former (fired and butthurt) employee

[Emerald-Rose]

Well that's.... discouraging to say the least.

[Emerald-Rose]

Originally posted by Santac:

former (fired and butthurt) employee

I get the impression that he quit.

[CarbonRevenge]

OP, link the source when you quote something.

The site is Glassdoor.

[I AM NELSON]

I feel like this is total BS.

[wertyuipo]

Source?

[Santac]

Originally posted by linkeagleandzen:

Originally posted by Santac:

former (fired and butthurt) employee

I get the impression that he quit.

Might be. Then again going online to write a very negative post about a former employer fits well with being fired.

He is not only hurting the company, but also indirectly his former colleagues. Not what I would call a pleasant fellow

[CarbonRevenge]

Originally posted by wertyuipo-san:

Source?

http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Rockstar-Games-Reviews-E20887.htm

[Sir Bagel Venomous]

Anyone who has actually worked an office job instead of flipping burgers in any industry in America knows this is universal. This guy probably got fired for not meeting deadlines, not being a "team player" (some people are rude freaks and you just have to ignore them) or even being a rude freak himself. Video game companies ussually fire the developers once the game is "complete' to save money, only to need more later since the game is broken.

[Nevasca Etenah]

That almost all devs has late work everyday its nothing new...but that of console fanboys pushing and pulling strings at development could easily tell us why so much delays!

[Morten]

Originally posted by Santac:

former (fired and butthurt) employee

The company has a score of 3.0. Most of the people who've worked for them more than a year have negative reviews.

Here's just a few random reviews:

• 5 of 5 stars - “Love it here ” Current Employee - QA Engineer in San Diego, CA I have been working at Rockstar Games full-time (less than an year)
  
• 2 of 5 stars - “Hard work. Time disappears.” Former Employee - Anonymous Employee I worked at Rockstar Games full-time (more than 10 years)
  
• 1 of 5 stars - “Welcome to the culture of FEAR!” Former Employee - Prefer to Hide for Fear of Retaliation in San Diego, CA I worked at Rockstar Games full-time (more than an year)
  
• 1 of 5 stars - “Amazing games, awful management ” Current Employee - Programmer in Edinburgh, Scotland (UK) I have been working at Rockstar Games full-time (more than 5 years)
  
• 1 of 5 stars - “Absolutely horrific. ” Current Employee - Anonymous Employee I have been working at Rockstar Games full-time (more than 5 years)
  
• 1 of 5 stars - “Zero career advancement, shocking contract extension procedures, abysmal treatment, removed from credits. Avoid. ” Former Employee - QA Tester in Edinburgh, Scotland (UK) I worked at Rockstar Games full-time (more than an year)
  
• 2 of 5 stars - “The coolness factor isn't enough to pay the bills ” Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in London, England (UK) I worked at Rockstar Games full-time (more than 3 years)
  
• 1 of 5 stars - “Do not work here. ” Former Employee - Programmer in San Diego, CA I worked at Rockstar Games
  
• 2 of 5 stars - “* Work for RockStar to feel like a looser. ” Former Employee - None of Your Business in New York, NY I worked at Rockstar Games

[juhas]

How can anybody complain about their job as a QA tester?! THIS IS THE BEST JOB POSSIBLE!

[maxdavinci]

“Welcome to the culture of FEAR! ”
Former Employee - Prefer to Hide for Fear of Retaliation in San Diego, CA

I worked at Rockstar Games full-time (more than an year)
Pros

Games are popular and recognized but...
Cons

The rumors are true. You will be treated like a slave.

Project is first, your life is second or third or eleventh.

Crunch for show is the norm. You are forced to be there long hours even when there is nothing to do. Everybody then panics and things have to be done for yesterday.

Terrible environment, everybody is frustrated. We made the most successful game in the world and everybody was miserable!

Get ready to work long hours/weekends for months or years. You will get aggressive emails demanding you to work 6 days a week as a minimum. You will be threatened to be fired if you don't work every weekend and 12 hours a day. Everything is kept in secret so you don't know when the game is supposed to be done and stay late. Then deadlines are pushed and the crunch is extended for another 6 months. This can go on for years.

Extremely passive aggressive managers that treat you like a new guy working at McDonalds even if you are very skilled or senior. All managers have this "you should feel grateful that you work here" attitude. People hate them with passion.

Everybody is afraid of Sam. Everybody is walking on eggshells waiting for him to explode. Managers hide from him what is really going on in the project so he doesn't explode again.

Culture of fear. You will get fired if you don't come on the weekend. You will get sued if you talk badly about us. You will get sued or fired for everything!
Constant feeling of "something really bad is about to happen". My health suffered from it.

Managers treat you badly and are extremely moody. Sam screams at them and they scream at the people below them until it reaches you. Horrible, horrible atmosphere. Some managers are abusive to the point of illegality but are protected by management. Managers treat people who leave Rockstar as traitors or losers.

HR is on Rockstar's side. You feel trapped. You hear horrible stories happening at other Rockstar studios all the time but nothing changes.

Really bad technology. RAGE engine is terrible. Crappy tools that are very limiting. Feeling of having to work handcuffed. Things are not automated enough and are done by hand by people that have to stay late. Brute force is the norm.

Wouldn't work here again and i don't recommend it to anyone. Forget the prestige. It's not worth it.
Advice to Management

I really hope the industry gets regulated so you stop exploiting people.

If this were true it wouldn't surprise me at all. The way they treat customers is the same.

[Paul Caruso]

Originally posted by Santac:

Originally posted by linkeagleandzen:

I get the impression that he quit.

Might be. Then again going online to write a very negative post about a former employer fits well with being fired.

He is not only hurting the company, but also indirectly his former colleagues. Not what I would call a pleasant fellow

You mean he's not ♥♥♥♥♥ made? Rockstar has a notoriously bad reputation for how it treats developers. He's not hurting anyone, management is.

[maxdavinci]

But what should you do if came out of hell and try to prevent others from tourist trapping?

I mean did anyone here ever tried to post a comment on Delaystars webpage which is slightly negative? They delete you instantly.