Rockstar Games, the developers behind the popular series Grand Theft Auto, has reportedly asked employees to return to the office 5 days a week beginning from 1st April 2024.

According to the email reviewed by Bloomberg, Rockstar Head of Publishing Jenn Kolbe said the decision was made for productivity and security reasons.

This decision from the company would be reasonable, as the game is likely to enter its final stages of development, being one year away from its planned release date of 2025.

Coupled with the company facing security during its development, causing massive leaks for the game to happen, it’s no surprise that the developers would want to increase security during this crucial phase.

Kolbe has also reportedly said that the company found “tangible benefits” from in-person work, to which she writes: “Making these changes now puts us in the best position to deliver the next Grand Theft Auto at the level of quality and polish we know it requires, along with a publishing roadmap that matches the scale and ambition of the game.”

Grand Theft Auto is a game series that was developed and published by Rockstar Games, with the first game in the series being released in 1997 as a top-down action-adventure game. Grand Theft Auto VI, the newest upcoming entry is set to be the eighth main game of the series.

The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI was released earlier than anticipated in December last year due to it being leaked online before the official announcement. However as previously mentioned, the game has suffered various security breaches during its development, with information about it being leaked as early as 2022.