Xbox Gaming in South Africa

Currently embroiled in one of those exciting us-vs-them wars, Rockstar Games has denied disgruntled employee and ex-employee claims that development on its incoming wild west shooter, Red Dead Redemption, could be in trouble, leading to a possible delay. In a Q&A with fans, the company cleared the air regarding any possible delays, while addressing recent comments surrounding the companies work processes:

First off, you guys have nothing to worry about: Red Dead Redemption is coming to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on April 27th 2010 (April 30th in Europe) - and we could not be more excited with how the game is looking and playing as it nears the end of development.  As for the stories spreading around the internet, yes we have noticed them.  Unfortunately, this is a case of people taking the opinions of a few anonymous posters on message boards as fact. No business is ever perfect, but Rockstar Games is a tight knit team made up of around 900 supremely talented and motivated professionals, many of whom have worked here for a very long time.  We’re saddened if any former members of any studio did not find their time here enjoyable or creatively fulfilling and wish them well with finding an environment more suitable to their temperaments and needs, but the vast majority of our company are focused solely on delivering cutting edge interactive entertainment.  We’ve always cared passionately about the people working here, and have always tried to maintain a supportive creative environment.  There is simply no way Rockstar could continue to produce such large scale, high quality games without this.  That being said, making great games is very challenging, which is why we have and will continue to try to keep hold of some of the best talent in the industry and support them in every way we can.

Whether or not the recent comments were entirely accurate, they do help to highlight the fast paced nature of gaming development in recent times, and perhaps will make publishers more aware of the environment that their employees work in. The good news for fans is that Red Dead Redemption is still on course for release on 30 April 2010 in Europe (and most likely South Africa).