rockstar publishing lead says gta 6 wasn't finished by crunching, but admits it's not been perfect

Saw the GamesRadar piece about Rockstar's publishing lead Jennifer Kolbe talking crunch and GTA 6. After the Red Dead 2 stories about 100 hour weeks, I always wondered if they'd actually change anything for the next one. Apparently they made a point of not finishing GTA 6 by crunching.

Kolbe said they did things differently this time and she's proud of that. But she also admitted it's not been perfect. That part stuck with me more than the proud quote. Nobody at Rockstar usually says anything negative about their own process, so even a small admission like that feels kind of notable.

It's not been perfect.

I know some people will read that and think it means the game is rough or rushed. I don't think that's what she's saying. More like they tried to avoid the RDR2 crunch cycle and it wasn't a clean fix. Which is probably realistic for a game this size. You don't just flip a switch and suddenly everyone works normal hours on a project with thousands of people.

We're a month out from launch and this is the first time I've seen a Rockstar publishing person talk about the work culture angle for GTA 6 specifically. Most of the pre launch coverage has been trailers, preorder stuff, and the extended look. So this feels like a different kind of interview.

I'm not expecting some big expose or anything. Rockstar isn't going to sit there and detail every overtime shift. But I'd rather hear a publishing lead say it's not been perfect than get another line about passion and craft. The RDR2 crunch reporting was ugly, and if they actually made changes for GTA 6, that's a good thing even if it wasn't flawless.

Curious if any of the devs speak up after launch. Usually the post release interviews are all positive, but if Kolbe is already admitting imperfection now, maybe the tone shifts later. Either way, I'm still counting down to November 19.

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Source: GamesRadar+ · Curated content.