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• Rockstar Wives Strike Back

  Today the wives of Rockstar San Diego employees posted an open letter on Gamasutra decrying the business practices and conditions suffered by their husbands. The letter is addressed to "whomever it may concern," and alleges worsening work conditions starting in March 2009.

  The letter alleges that certain members of the Rockstar San Diego management have ratcheted up pressure in the office by forcing twelve hour work days including Saturdays with false promises of compensation time off in the future. It also claims a cut in benefits which include vacation time between Christmas and New Year, loss of medical benefits, and loss of overtime pay. It continues to describe a new studio manager who "…vulgarly speaks the F word in most sentences and those who refuse to look at the workers' faces as they pass in the hall."

  According to the letter it is meant as a "starting point" to provide a "...clearer direction for change." However, it also threatens legal action against Rockstar San Diego if working conditions are not improved in the coming weeks. The letter describes these conditions as directly affecting employee's health and family life with diagnosed cases of depression and one instance of suicidal tendencies.

  You might remember a similar letter penned by an EA Spouse in 2004, detailing unfair work practices at EA. The husband of the author of that letter was Leander Hasty, who was the main plaintiff in a class action suit on behalf of software engineers at EA. This eventually awarded the plaintiffs 14.9 million for unpaid overtime.