Actually, if I remember correctly, there was a 'cubicle-like torture room' that was designed without the core Dev team knowledge, poking fun (to put it nicely) at the long hours the coding team had to endure to produce the CoV zones prior to launch.
Once it was discovered, Posi pointed out that they were unaware of it's existence until it was pointed out, and that it was actually a punishable offense, though what happened to the offending individuals was never really disclosed.
So... to answer your question... yes? I'm sure the pressure was on to produce product from the publisher, and some felt it was an appropriate venue to toss in there as a jab at Arachnos...
Lyc~
