Jason Schreier in new Bloomberg article revealed the reasons of the cancellation of the GTA Online add-on called Cops ‘n’ Crooks, dedicated to the police work. After the George Floyd incident, Rockstar Games decided to pull it off and was afraid of being misunderstood. The DLC has been postponed indefinitely. During protests over the death of George Floyd, the company said it would send donations to Black Lives Matter charities.
Big changes have taken place in the company itself. Previously, Rockstar Games employees complained about alcohol abuse in the team, some fights and trips to strip clubs. According to Schreier, the company was something like a Frat-Boy club. The wage gap between men and women has narrowed too.
Also Rockstar is fighting overwork. According to co-founder Jamie King, who left after eight years, the studio was built around a seven-day workweek. Games like Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 required what some employees called working 14-hour days, seven days a week. This greatly affected the lives of employees, their mental health and marriage.
In recent years the company changed work schedules, moved contractors full-time, and fired several rude and abusive managers. Employees were given new benefits. The new policy allows employees to immediately take time off for every additional hour they work.
The success of GTA Online allowed Rockstar Games not to force the development of GTA 6. However some employees left the company because they did not see progress in their work.