With just eight days until launch, Rockstar Games have released a new trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2. Check it out here:
The trailer, which is expected to be the last one released before launch, is relatively short but gives us a glimpse of the story. The long-anticipated follow up to Red Dead Redemption (2010) is currently available for pre-order, and will be released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 26th October 2018.
Unfortunately for Rockstar Games, they have been in the news for all the wrong reasons this week. In a rare interview with New York magazine, the lead writer (and Rockstar co-founder) Dan Houser revealed that there were several instances during the run up to completion and launch of RDR2 where he and others worked 100-hour weeks to get the work done.
The busy periods where a video game developer is working hell-for-leather to meet deadlines are known as 'crunch time', and seem to be inherent to the industry. Houser's casual reference about working 100-hour weeks to meet a deadline was met with widespread criticism, which lead to many former employees of both Rockstar Games and other video game developers to speak out against crunch via social media.
Houser later clarified in a statement to Kotaku that he was only referring to the senior writing team, which is made up of four people, and the period of intense overtime was for just three weeks.
Rockstar Games have told employees that they are now lifting a ban which restricts them from sharing their work experiences on social media. A number of current employees have voiced their support for Rockstar, some acknowledging that crunch time does exist but that overtime is optional.
The video game developer is notoriously tight-lipped about their work; they haven't had a booth at E3 for years, and the people at the top hardly ever grant interviews. After all the controversy this week, it seems unlikely that this will change.
The trailer, which is expected to be the last one released before launch, is relatively short but gives us a glimpse of the story. The long-anticipated follow up to Red Dead Redemption (2010) is currently available for pre-order, and will be released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 26th October 2018.
Unfortunately for Rockstar Games, they have been in the news for all the wrong reasons this week. In a rare interview with New York magazine, the lead writer (and Rockstar co-founder) Dan Houser revealed that there were several instances during the run up to completion and launch of RDR2 where he and others worked 100-hour weeks to get the work done.
The busy periods where a video game developer is working hell-for-leather to meet deadlines are known as 'crunch time', and seem to be inherent to the industry. Houser's casual reference about working 100-hour weeks to meet a deadline was met with widespread criticism, which lead to many former employees of both Rockstar Games and other video game developers to speak out against crunch via social media.
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Houser later clarified in a statement to Kotaku that he was only referring to the senior writing team, which is made up of four people, and the period of intense overtime was for just three weeks.
Rockstar Games have told employees that they are now lifting a ban which restricts them from sharing their work experiences on social media. A number of current employees have voiced their support for Rockstar, some acknowledging that crunch time does exist but that overtime is optional.
The video game developer is notoriously tight-lipped about their work; they haven't had a booth at E3 for years, and the people at the top hardly ever grant interviews. After all the controversy this week, it seems unlikely that this will change.
