Rockstar Games, a unit of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., will ask employees to return to the office five days a week starting in April as the video game maker enters the final stages of development on its next game. hotly anticipated Grand Craft Auto VI.
In an email to employees on Wednesday that was reviewed by Bloomberg, Rockstar publishing chief Jenn Kolbe said the decision was made for performance and security reasons. The company has experienced several security breaches, including huge dump of early footage from new Grand Theft Auto and an early trailer that leaked in December.
Kolbe wrote that the company also found “tangible benefits” from personal work. “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 is required, and a publishing plan that matches the scale and ambition of the game,” she wrote.
Demands to return to the office have become a hot topic across industries as the pandemic has forced many employees to work from home. More recently, many employers have asked employees to return to the office two or three days a week. A study last month found that remote work had no impact in terms of performance.
This issue has been particularly controversial among video game workers. thanks to volatility industry and the lack of a centralized workforce. Many of the biggest video game hits of 2023 such as Spider-Man Marvel 2 from Insomniac Games, were developed remotely.