Both Rockstar Games and CD Projekt Red have made some notable blunders in the past few years. For CD Projekt Red, this was the release of Cyberpunk 2077, the console version of which was so buggy that it completely detracted from any other aspects of the game. For Rockstar Games, both the recent news of another upcoming Grand Theft Auto V remaster, and the release of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — Definitive Edition, have resulted in ridicule over the games having underwhelming enhancements and being as riddled with bugs as Cyberpunk 2077 was. The reputations of Rockstar and CD Projekt Red have thus suffered, to differing degrees.

While both companies have different histories, the ways in which CD Projekt Red has attempted to rectify the fumbled release of Cyberpunk 2077 emphasizes some strategies Rockstar Games could implement. Rockstar has a stronger history of releasing well-loved games, though its recent emphasis on re-releases highlights broader fatigue with remasters in gaming. Regardless, Rockstar has established its successful brand over the last few decades. CD Projekt Red, on the other hand, didn't really reach notoriety until the release of The Witcher 3. However, considering the recent turnaround in reviews of Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red may be benefitting from its shorter development history by being less set in its ways and better able to adapt to the demands and realities of creating large scale immersive AAA games today.

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The Dreaded Culture of Crunch

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As has been well reported by various news outlets, crunch culture is a major issue in game development. Essentially, crunch culture refers to the expectations of game companies that the developers will work excessive overtime closer to the release of a game in order to get it finished. Of course, companies like Rockstar and CD Projekt Red know that releasing a fully polished game is better than a buggy, unfinished one, and are incentivized to aim for this since it usually means more sales. Crunch culture thus reveals an ignorance of workers' basic needs, whether willful or not, and obliterates any semblance of a work/life balance.

With The Witcher 3, CD Projekt Red implemented a "non-obligatory crunch" model so developers wouldn't be forced into overtime, but closer to the game's release this was abandoned and developers were forced into overtime anyway. Again with Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red promised to avoid a crunch, but then later implemented a mandatory crunch for all employees. The botched release of Cyberpunk 2077 has led to CD Projekt Red promising to prioritize developers' health and wellbeing once again, particularly in releasing the upcoming PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of the game.

Rockstar Games, meanwhile, has a long detailed history of crunch culture, and is known as one of the biggest perpetrators of it. Changing management behind the scenes at Rockstar has resulted in some reports of better working conditions, but the company still has a long way to go to separate itself from exploitative crunch. While CD Projekt Red has made many promises, the true test will be whether the company sticks to these policies with the pressure of an impending release. Rockstar and CD Projekt Red games are massive, detailed, and advanced games that require a lot of time to develop, and while CD Projekt Red still needs to follow through on its word, it is at least addressing crunch culture directly.

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Fixing What Needs to Be Fixed

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Exploitative working conditions are rampant across not only gaming but for a huge array of tech industries, and this absolutely needs to be addressed, but it's not the only factor that influences a game's success. Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2, for example, received enormously positive reviews despite reports on the crunch culture at Rockstar.

As awareness of crunch culture increases, gaming fans are becoming more aware of this though, and perceive the culprit companies accordingly. The actual playability of the release will largely dictate a player's response, and so CD Projekt Red has dedicated its efforts to improving current releases of the game first, and then working on the next-gen versions, all while also promising to avoid crunch. Cyberpunk 2077 has even had a spike in positive Steam reviews recently, proving CD Projekt Red is truly trying to fix the game.

Another factor in this positive response is that Cyberpunk 2077 is an original IP. While the botched release was harmful, eventually updates allowed players to discover the actual game underneath the glitches, and it seems many actually enjoy it. However, the PC version of the game was never quite as bad as consoles, so CD Projekt Red taking more time to work on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S version, while also giving players a free upgrade to this version, is a positive sign.

When Rockstar Games releases a lackluster and glitchy version of a Grand Theft Auto game, it makes the already divisive remakes more pointless. As apparent from the demand for Rockstar to relist the original PC versions of the game on its store, players would rather play the original games than messy remakes. While Rockstar has apologized for this release, it has only increased the growing disconnect between the company and its fans who previously disliked bombed a recent GTA V re-release trailer.

Ultimately, CD Projekt Red staked its entire reputation on Cyberpunk 2077, hyping the game and reportedly actually following a Rockstar Games-inspired approach of working on one big project at a time. Crunch culture is a major problem that needs to be addressed in the gaming industry, and CD Projekt Red will have to follow through on its promises to truly shed itself of this negative association. The spike in positive reviews for Cyberpunk 2077 indicates the company is listening to feedback, and is attempting to address its various issues.

Rockstar Games, on the other hand, hasn't made a new game in years, and while the re-releases (as well as outsourcing some development, such as GTA: The Trilogy being developed by Grove Street Games) may allow the company to avoid crunch culture for now, Rockstar must follow CD Projekt Red's response: Address these issues head-on, and listen to feedback from both fans and employees.

Buggy games can be successful, and players often just find them funny and minor annoyances, such as the many memes about Bethesda and glitchy software. There is a limit, of course, and both Rockstar and CD Projekt Red have hit this limit for different reasons. CD Projekt Red just needs to fix Cyberpunk, while Rockstar needs to rethink what projects it should be prioritizing right now.

Cyberpunk 2077 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.

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