Union that flagged GTA 6 crunch says first meeting with Rockstar was a step in the right direction

Saw this pop up on GamesRadar earlier. The union that made waves a while back by claiming Rockstar had crunch "built into" dev contracts for GTA 6 finally got their first sit-down with management. And surprisingly, they're not coming out swinging.

They called it "a step in the right direction." The quote they gave was pretty measured: "We were able to make the case that workers' voices need to be heard." No big promises, no sudden policy changes announced, but the fact that Rockstar even agreed to meet feels like a shift. After years of silence and that infamous "we're working on it" statement from 2022, any dialogue is news.

I'm still a little skeptical. We've all seen how the industry treats "crunch" as a dirty word until the game ships and suddenly it's a badge of honor. And with GTA 6 being the most anticipated thing on the planet, the pressure to deliver on November 19th has to be immense. A single meeting doesn't undo months of 60-hour weeks if those reports were true. But if the union can actually get some protections in place before the final stretch, maybe the devs won't be completely burned out by the time we're all exploring Leonida.

It's weird being a fan and caring about this stuff. I want the game to be incredible, but I also don't want it built on misery. The fact that a union exists and is talking to Rockstar at all is a good sign. Fingers crossed it leads to something real, not just PR.

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Source: GamesRadar+ · Curated content.