Court filings from the battle between GTA 6 studio Rockstar and fired workers have revealed how Rockstar accessed a Discord server set up by union organisers.
  • theparadox@lemmy.worldEnglish
    578·
    1 month ago

    Not that I personally give a fuck about GTA generally, but it does make me upset that one of the few methods we have to “police” these companies as consumers is to not buy the game. To take a massive project that consumed however many years of work by however many developers and artists just and make it a commercial failure just to… stick it to their bosses? It’s like refusing to buy a musician’s CD because you don’t like the record company they made a deal with. Nobody gets to enjoy the music and the musician makes less money. This system sucks.

    • spankysalmon@fedinsfw.appEnglish
      58·
      1 month ago

      The employees have already been paid as much as they’re going to and will be rewarded by being laid off. Not buying it only punishes the shithead management that will otherwise give themselves massive year end bonuses.

      • Dagnet@lemmy.worldEnglish
        27·
        1 month ago

        Exactly. The triple A industry pretty much never passes profits to the devs and a game selling well does not lead to job security. Don’t buy the game or pirate it, there no moral issue here

        • theparadox@lemmy.worldEnglish
          4·
          1 month ago

          Given that the power to support the game is literally the only power we have, there is no moral issue - I agree. I don’t, however, understand what’s wrong with wishing for a system that gives consumers and workers more options.

      • theparadox@lemmy.worldEnglish
        53·
        1 month ago

        will be rewarded by being laid off. Not buying it only punishes the shithead management

        While I agree with the sentiment, that’s a gross oversimplification.

        • While I’m sure the studio will likely downsize and lay off staff, many will stay on.
        • Passion and care inevitably went into the game, to some degree. I would be surprised if devs and artists were indifferent to its success, whether they kept their jobs or not.
        • It’s hugely different to be laid off after a hit game vs a failure of a game, when it comes to finding new work.
        • The art itself, if it was of any quality, is wasted.

        Again, I’m not advocating people buy it. I just wish we had the power to fight some other way. I won’t be buying it, but I wouldn’t have bought it anyway. It will also very likely sell like hotcakes, regardless of our posturing.