Uncredited LA Noire Staff Allege 'Praise-Free' Working Conditions

Developers who worked on Team Bondi's LA Noire and were subsequently left without credit have been describing how they were asked to work 10-12 hours a day, every day, including weekends. Earlier this month, over 100 contributing developers who were not included in the final credits roll for Team Bondi and Rockstar's LA Noire were highlighted on a special LA Noire Credits site. Talking to the Sydney Morning Herald, a number of unnamed developers explained how, despite contributing large amounts of time and effort to the game's development, they were still not credited. According to one former employee, Team Bondi told staff that they would not be credited on the game until they stayed with the company until the game was shipped. Another developer who worked on the game for three years explained that he was forced to leave the company as, "I felt as though my sanity depended on it." He described working at the company as "an inflexible and virtually praise-free environment," and noted the 10-12 hour working days, including weekends. "After my wife had been pushing me to quit for more than a year, I did," he said. "There has been a lot of press saying how incredible this is for the Australian gaming industry, since it is the biggest (and most successful) game made in Australia to date." "But that has come at the price, as most of the people that worked on it will never have proof of having worked there (unless they want to pull out a paycheck)," he explained. The unnamed developer noted that he had dedicated "25 percent of my professional life" to the game, yet was not credited. Gamasutra has contacted Team Bondi for a response.