Rockstar North—Implemented workplace reforms after crunch backlash: flexitime, contractor conversions, restructured scheduling
Following the 2018 crunch controversy and Dan Houser's departure in 2020, Rockstar made documented improvements. According to Bloomberg's 2022 investigation interviewing 20+ current and recent employees: the design department was restructured, scheduling improved, temp contractors converted to full-time, and 'flexitime' policies let staff take time off for extra hours worked. Employees described it as 'a boys' club transformed into a real company' with 'morale across the company higher than it's ever been.'
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worker Rights | +toward | primary | +1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | +0.429 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.57)× agency (reactive ×0.75)
Evidence (1 signal)
Implemented workplace reforms after crunch backlash: flexitime, contractor conversions, restructured scheduling
Following the 2018 crunch controversy and Dan Houser's departure in 2020, Rockstar made documented improvements. According to Bloomberg's 2022 investigation interviewing 20+ current and recent employees: the design department was restructured, scheduling improved, temp contractors converted to full-time, and 'flexitime' policies let staff take time off for extra hours worked. Employees described it as 'a boys' club transformed into a real company' with 'morale across the company higher than it's ever been.'