A British trade union group is accusing Rockstar Games of union busting after it reportedly fired over 30 employees across offices in the UK and Canada. The Grand Theft Auto 6 maker denies the charges, however, claiming the people were terminated for “gross misconduct.”
“Rockstar has just carried out one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry,” Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) president Alex Marshall said in a statement, first reported by Bloomberg. “This flagrant contempt for the law and for the lives of the workers who bring in their billions is an insult to their fans and the global industry.”
But Rockstar parent company Take-Two claims that’s not the case. “We strive to make the world’s best entertainment properties by giving our best-in-class creative teams positive work environments and ongoing career opportunities,” a spokesperson for the company said in an email to Kotaku. “Our culture is focused on teamwork, excellence, and kindness. Rockstar Games terminated a small number of individuals for gross misconduct, and for no other reason. As always, we fully support Rockstar’s ambitions and approach.”
According to Marshall, the only people fired from Rockstar were all members of a private trade union chat group on Discord who had either signed up for IWGB membership or were thinking of doing so. While the studio is made up of thousands of employees and headquartered in New York, the biggest office is Rockstar North located in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Best known for the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption franchises, the studio is currently working to ship GTA 6 after its 2025 launch was delayed earlier this year. It’s now set to arrive in May 2026. While Rockstar Games had a notorious history of crunching during development, the company has reportedly made big strides in recent years in improving its work culture. A controversial return-to-office policy, however, showed there are still tensions between developers and management at the studio.
