With Christmas a few weeks away, Onah Rongstad had been working round-the-clock to prepare for the release of new content in "Call of Duty: Warzone," an entry in the bestselling first-person-shooter franchise.
The 26-year-old was a quality assurance tester for Raven Software, a Wisconsin video game studio owned by Santa Monica gaming giant Activision Blizzard. She and her teammates were responsible for ensuring everything in the game ran smoothly for players — every weapon, animation, character, map and event.
For five weeks, Rongstad placed her life on the back burner. From Monday through Saturday, she worked at least 10 and sometimes more than 12 hours; on several occasions, she worked Sunday as well. Unable to find the time to go to the grocery store or cook, she subsisted on takeout.
