During the final week of October, Rockstar Games fired more than 30 employees across offices in the United Kingdom and Canada. Rockstar subsequently claimed that the staff members were let go for “gross misconduct,” but the employees contend that they were terminated for attempting to organize with a union. Now, the battle over those labor moves may be heading to court.
Over 200 Rockstar employees have signed letters demanding that their colleagues be reinstated to their jobs. The fired workers were all members of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain, and the organization has called Rockstar’s actions “the most ruthless act of union busting in the history of the games industry.”
The fired staff members have been joined by current employees and other supporters for protests outside of the offices for Rockstar and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive. Additional protests are planned for the company’s offices in London and Paris later this week.
IWGB representatives have pushed back against Rockstar’s claims that the ex-employees leaked sensitive information about the company or its games in the union’s Discord channels. Additionally, the IWGB has filed formal legal claims against Rockstar that may be a precursor towards a long battle in court.
“It’s heartwarming to see so many of our colleagues supporting us and holding management to account–during a period where Rockstar want us to feel scared, my brave former colleagues are marching straight up to our boss’s door and demanding our voices are heard and not backing down,” wrote one of the former employees, whose real name was withheld. “It’s clear to everyone close to this situation that this is a blatant, unapologetic act of vicious union busting. Rockstar employs so many talented game developers, all of whom are crucial to making the games we put out.”
Rockstar has already made the prediction that its Grand Theft Auto 6 launch will be the biggest video game debut in history. The release date was recently pushed back to November 19, 2026 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Rockstar is estimated to be on the hook for $60 million in losses due to the game’s delay.