Riot says there are plenty of rational reasons not to build a new MMO, including the cost, long development cycle, and how difficult the genre is to break into.
The studio is moving ahead anyway because it believes the creative opportunity is worth the risk, even if the project is not the safest business decision.
Embark says the team was constantly overshooting its capacity after ARC Raiders took off, while trying to keep up with new content, bug fixes, exploits, and millions of players.
The studio has since moved toward slower, larger updates, with the goal of giving developers a better work life balance and avoiding burnout.
A former Rockstar employee told the tribunal that workers who signed a 2023 office petition were later placed under closer monitoring.
Rockstar disputes that union activity played any role in the dismissals and says the employees were fired over alleged confidentiality breaches.
The case is putting a rare spotlight on how one of the industry’s most secretive studios handles internal organizing and employee monitoring.