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[Akuza89]

Think about Red Dead and Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar and two things spring to mind: the attention to detail it puts into its games, and also the amount of work it takes to put that detail in there.

Today's new find in Red Dead Redemption 2 touches on both of these things - a veiled reference to the developer's culture of overtime, hidden away in the detail of a catalogue of guns.

Inspect the Cattleman Revolver - available from the start of the game - in the gunsmith catalogue and you'll see the following description:

"It is made by skilled labourers who work tireless hours each week and on the weekends for little pay in order to bring you the finest revolver in the field today."

The weapon is made "in a factory we own and control in Worcester, Mass.", the blurb continues.

You may not have heard of Worcester, Massachusetts, but it's a city which exists in real-life, just outside Boston. Having spent the last few weeks investigating working practices at Rockstar studios around the world, it didn't take long to realise Worcester is just down the road from Andover, Massachusetts - where Rockstar's big New England studio is located, and where hundreds of staff have been working hard on Red Dead Redemption 2.

Coincidence? Perhaps. But in light of last week's reports of Rockstar crunch culture and overtime here on Eurogamer and elsewhere, it feels more like a Rockstar employee sneaking reference in to their own plight. It'll be interesting to see if the description is changed.

SOURCE

I've not even got the game yet and I'm getting sick of all this RDR2 news and posts (yes I realise the irony!)

However this is an exception to the rule! it's pretty funny in my eyes that they'd sneak this in! haha

 

[Vawn]

I'm not seeing what that has to do with working overtime.

Journalists are really grasping at straws now.

 

[TheAdmiester]

Feels like it's just general satire about overworked and underpaid workers to me.

 

[tkscz]

The title is click bait. It just says working hard on the game. Overtime nor crunch is mentioned. This is stretching.

 

[JimboJones]

I think some of these media outlets want this to be the mental image we have when we think of developers

when it's more likely this

 

[zeorhymer]

I read the sentence and they stretched out that meaning further than taffy. Holy fuck do they not know history at all. It's beyond grasping for straws, they're on LSD and just writing what comes to mind.

 

[LOLCats]

Fair labor standards were not enacted until 1938. Maybe its a nod at worker rights (or lack there of) back in the late 1800s/early 1900s.

 

[DryvBy]

I'm almost certain this is making fun of general labor in those days. See some basic history here. I'd say the 100+ hours these guys put in were a lot more demanding than what game activists want you to believe.

 

[iconmaster]

Maaaaybe, but this part:

You may not have heard of Worcester, Massachusetts, but it's a city which exists in real-life, just outside Boston. Having spent the last few weeks investigating working practices at Rockstar studios around the world, it didn't take long to realise Worcester is just down the road from Andover, Massachusetts - where Rockstar's big New England studio is located

reads like

 

[AV]

I'd love any non-UK Gaffers to try and pronounce Worcester properly. Correct pronunciation below after you give it a shot.

Spoiler

Wusster.

 

[Killer751]

I think some of these media outlets want this to be the mental image we have when we think of developers

when it's more likely this

Honestly the top image suits the situation more.

 

[Hendrick's]

IDK, Worcester was a big industrial center during the time the game is set in. The location being in proximity to the studio could just be nothing.

Also this: Forehand & Wadsworth

A Forehand & Wadsworth British Bulldog was used in the 1993 movie, Tombstone