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Rockstar Games has been accused of enabling crunch conditions through employee contracts

Union members say there is a lack of transparency around pay and bonuses at the Grand Theft 6 studio

The union accuses the studio of scrapping initiatives aimed at addressing gender-based pay inequity

Grand Theft Auto 6 studio and industry giant Rockstar Games has been accused of unfair working conditions that include enabling crunch culture, failing to address gender-based pay inequity, and weaponizing bonuses.

Three members of the Rockstar Game Workers Union (RGWU) spoke to Game Developer in a huge interview - though they wished to remain anonymous due to fear of reprisals - and claimed that the studio attempts to normalize crunch.

"Crunch is prevalent enough that the company built into our contracts, as standard, an opt out of the Working Time Regulations that stops your employer being able to ask you to do more than about 10 hours extra each week," one source explained, referring to the UK protection that can be voluntarily relinquished by employees.

"The union successfully ran a campaign to inform people they could opt back in to the regulations at any time, which resulted in Rockstar management simplifying the process and removing the obligation to meet with HR," the source added.

"Part of the problem with crunch is that there is not an agreed definition, and now it seems the company thinks that offering specific and limited compensation as an incentive for overtime means it no longer qualifies as crunch."

While some teams at Rockstar never crunch, it's claimed that there are also departments that "seem to never get out of it — and often colleagues do not realize the opposite group exists."

The interview also includes claims that workers were forced to return to the office and relinquish hybrid or remote work benefits, a mandate which allegedly didn't apply to company leaders, and there is a lack of transparency around pay and bonuses.

A "considerable portion" of most employees' compensation packages comes in the form of bonuses that fluctuate, often without obvious justification. It's claimed that the compensation workers receive falls below the market rate when compared to adjacent industry work, with one source saying, "When the bonus is particularly good, it can be a windfall, but often the bonus is disappointing and one can end up being paid considerably less than expected for the year.

"The reasoning given for this is often nebulous, inconsistent between departments, even inconsistent between team members within the same department, and sometimes hinges on completely subjective or retroactive criticisms."

It's said promotions are also hard to secure at the studio because Rockstar regularly shifts the goalposts when career progression is discussed.

"The main problem is that [bonuses and progression are] all completely discretionary for the company, and they are under no obligation to show their working," the source added. "Employees want good pay, and if literally anything they do that year could affect it, they will naturally feel they have to be as pliable as possible to their boss's whims. Imagine [how you might feel if] a fifth of your salary could be withheld without any justification or based on a single surprise factor."

Gender-based pay inequity is another issue that the union members discussed, informing Game Developer that the gap between median wages for different genders has widened at Rockstar and that initiatives aimed to address that imbalance have been scrapped.

Union workers say all these issues have created a sense of imbalance and injustice at the studio and feel that employees are not adequately compensated for GTA 6 , which is set to be the biggest game launch of all time.

A Take-Two Interactive spokesperson provided a statement to Game Developer in response to the claims. It reads: "We strive to make the best games possible by giving our talented teams world-class work environments and ongoing career opportunities. We have fostered a culture which is focused on teamwork, excellence, and kindness, and where we support and reward the team across all levels of the business through competitive compensation and benefits policies.

"We are proud that as a result, our employee retention is well above the industry standard. We have received a request from a union seeking to discuss voluntary recognition. We value an open and constructive dialogue with all stakeholders and will arrange to meet."

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ROME — Japan, Italy and the U.K. have handed a £4.6 billion ($6.1 billion) development contract to their national champions building the GCAP jet, days after the U.K. freed up crucial cash to make it happen following a months long hold-up.

The three nations said on Friday they had handed the 18-month contract to Edgewing, the industrial consortium grouping firms building the sixth-generation fighter.

The announcement came three days after the announcement of the U.K.’s delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which contained funds for the fighter.

“The £4.6 billion contract will enable completion of the advanced concept and assessment phase of the program, and further joint detailed design and development,” the tri-nation agency running the program announced.

As the partners awaited the publication of the DIP this spring, they handed firms a £686 million stop-gap contract to keep work going until June 30.

To the relief of the partner firms, the DIP - which was released on the same day the stop gap contract expired - committed £8.6 billion ($11.4 billion) over four years to the program, more than the £6 billion expected.

The U.K.’s delay in finding the GCAP money sparked criticism from Japan, which is anxious to get a sixth-generation jet flying by the planned GCAP delivery date of 2035.

Japan’s prime minister reportedly threatened to pull out of a planned visit to the U.K. before the G7 in June if the U.K. failed to promise funding.

The signing of the contract comes days ahead of the opening of the U.K. Farnborough airshow this month.

U.K. defense procurement minister Luke Pollard called the contract “a major step forward towards delivery” of the GCAP.

He added, “This milestone strengthens our partnership with international allies, supports thousands of highly skilled jobs across the UK, and will give the RAF the tools they need to keep the UK safe, all backed by an £8.6 billion commitment in the defense investment plan.”

Edgewing, the industrial consortium running the program teams local champions BAE Systems, Leonardo, and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. Ltd. (JAIEC).

Edgewing is now expected to hand its own contracts to tri-nation consortia managing the electronics and propulsion on the jet.

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Yet another record-size cruise ship is about to debut — this time in Europe.

Dubbed Legend of the Seas, the 20-deck-high Royal Caribbean vessel will sail from Civitavecchia, Italy, on Saturday on a maiden voyage that will take it to Marseille, France; Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, Spain; and La Spezia, Italy before a return trip to Civitavecchia.

Built at the giant Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, Legend of the Seas is the latest ship in Royal Caribbean's much-ballyhooed Icon Class series , which is setting new records for ship sizes.

Two earlier vessels in the two-year-old series — Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas — each are about 6% bigger than the previous size leader among cruise ships, Royal Caribbean's four-year-old Wonder of the Seas .

Like both of its sisters, Legend of the Seas measures about 248,660 gross tons. But it's a foot longer than the two earlier Icon Class vessels, making it the new world's largest cruise ship — if only by a tad.

Room for nearly 10,000 people

Like its sisters, Legend of the Seas is able to hold up to 7,600 passengers with every berth full — a record-breaking number that tops any other vessels afloat by a significant amount.

Add in 2,350 crew members, and Legend of the Seas, like its sisters, can sail at times with nearly 10,000 people on board — also a record for a cruise vessel.

Legend of the Seas is loaded with top deck amusements. ROYAL CARIBBEAN As is typical for the world's largest cruise ships, both Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas debuted in Florida, the cruise capital of the world. But Legend of the Seas will sail in the Mediterranean through late October, when it will reposition across the Atlantic to Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades .

Related: The 7 types of Royal Caribbean ships, explained

That makes it by far the largest cruise vessel ever to debut in Europe.

Legend of the Seas' Mediterranean sailings, mostly seven nights in length, will begin in Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) and Barcelona.

After repositioning to Florida, it'll operate alternating six- and eight-night sailings to the Western Caribbean and Southern Caribbean with calls at some ports such as Falmouth, Jamaica and Willemstad, Curacao that haven't traditionally seen Icon Class ships .

All Legend of the Seas voyages will also feature calls at Perfect Day at CocoCay , Royal Caribbean's hugely popular private island in the Bahamas.

Designed for families

Like the two other vessels in the Icon Class series, Legend of the Seas has been designed with families in mind.

The Icon Class series of ships boasts more cabins offering extra bunks to accommodate families with children than earlier Royal Caribbean vessels. They also have more amenities geared to families, including new-for-the-line outdoor "neighborhoods" called Surfside that are dedicated to families with young children.

A merry-go-round for young kids at the Surfside area. ROYAL CARIBBEAN The Surfside areas, notably, feature splash areas for babies and kids, pools and lounge spaces for parents, family-friendly eateries and shops.

The Icon Class ships also feature seven pools and the largest water parks ever built on a cruise ship, with a record six waterslides each. No other vessels come close to such extensive water attractions on a cruise ship.

Related: Royal Caribbean ships ranked from newest to oldest

Among new features on Legend of the Seas are a Hollywood-themed Supper Club and new food venues at the top-of-the-ship AquaDome Market.

New entertainment offerings include a version of Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", which played on Broadway and London's West End.

Initial fares for seven-night sailings on Legend of the Seas in the Mediterranean start at $1,480 per person, based on double occupancy. Fares for sailings out of Florida start at $1,582 per person, based on double occupancy.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:

The 5 most desirable cabin locations on any cruise ship

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A quick guide to the most popular cruise lines

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Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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Sony is ending physical disc production for new PlayStation games in 2028, and the widely controversial decision could affect how Xbox and Nintendo approach physical media, according to the company's ex-boss.

Earlier this week, PlayStation made everyone and their unborn children mad by announcing that it plans to discontinue physical production of new games releasing on PS4, PS5, and inevitable PS6 consoles from January 2026. "Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only," the company explained.

Former PlayStation Worldwide Studios head, Shawn Layden, who led the company across its PS4 golden years, recently chimed in on the "dramatic decision" in an interview with Eurogamer .

Speaking on how PlayStation's disc-less future could impact the other two console makers, Layden essentially says it's not good news: "Certainly this is an industry where if one company, particularly the leader of the industry, makes a decision of this magnitude, that's going to heavily influence what the other ones do."

The Nintendo Switch 2 is a fairly new console that supports physical cartridges, despite a few less-than-ideal Game-Key Card releases. The likelihood of the Big N completely ditching physical games any time soon is pretty low , then.

Meanwhile, Xbox has pretty openly discussed its next-gen plans for Project Helix , a console that can also apparently play your PC games. What shape that takes isn't totally clear, but there haven't been any promises of a built-in disc drive at the time of writing.

Ending support for physical releases isn't a new point of debate for the company, Layden says, since was apparently asked about it "every year for the last 20 years." But he was always hesitant to pull the trigger until he was "comfortable enough to believe that worldwide, broadband throughout is good enough to support that download experience, good enough to reach the majority of customers," he tells Eurogamer. While he was in charge, that reality obviously never came to pass, though he acknowledges that he no longer works for PlayStation and, thus, no longer knows what their internal data says about the matter.

Regardless, Sony's decision has been hugely unpopular. Developers and publishers across the industry spoke out against PlayStation's all-digital future , citing concerns around game preservation and consumer rights.

Despite huge declines over the last two decades, one analyst recently revealed that spending on physical games in the US actually increased over the last 12-month period. Around $1.6 billion was spent on physical video games in the US alone – certainly nothing to scoff at, and the small increase in business indicates that it's not a market that's ready to die by itself.

Game preservation expert says stop killing games if you don't want piracy, because companies like PlayStation and Rockstar "refuse to offer a meaningful alternative"