A lot of effort went into making Red Dead Redemption 2, resulting in “100-hour weeks” for some developers. The backlash following those 100-week reports prompted a response from Rockstar in which the studio clarified its overtime policy. Now, fans have discovered an in-game reference which appears to address crunch directly.
Red Dead Redemption 2 Crunch Reference
Many game developers regard overtime as a necessary evil of video game development. Some developers push back against it, others do their best to embrace it. In Rockstar’s case, a well-hidden Red Dead Redemption 2 easter egg seems to at least acknowledge the long hours spent.
Specifically, the in-game reference involves the Cattleman Revolver weapon. When the player unlocks the ability to dual-wield one-handed weapons, they can buy a second Cattleman Revolver for their loadout. Here’s the Cattleman Revolver’s official in-game description:
“A sidearm for many years of the US Army, it is manufactured at a factory we own and control in Worcester, Mass. It is made by skilled laborers 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 bits about tireless hours and working weekends for little pay seem to be not-so-subtle references to crunch. The specific mentioning of Worcester, Massachusetts is also interesting since Rockstar happens to have an office in Andover, Massachusetts. Andover is just an hour’s drive from Worcester, another potential dig at Rockstar’s overtime working conditions.
All of this is pure speculation of course. Several reports from Rockstar employees paint a much brighter picture when it comes to working conditions and crunch. Still, the juxtaposition between the 100-hour week reports and the Cattleman Revolver description make for one heck of a coincidence. Those who wrote the description could easily have just wanted to pay homage to their labor of love.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.