Rockstar Faces Employment Tribunal Over the Dismissal of 34 Workers Ahead of GTA 6 Launch
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Rockstar Games is facing a UK employment tribunal over the dismissal of 34 workers who claim they were fired for union activity, while the studio maintains the terminations were due to confidentiality leaks.
Rockstar Games is defending itself at a Glasgow employment tribunal against allegations from the Independent Workers of Great Britain union. The union claims that 31 UK workers and three in Canada were unlawfully targeted and fired last October for union activities related to GTA 6, pointing to a lack of disciplinary process or right of appeal. Rockstar strongly denies the claims, maintaining that the employees were dismissed for gross misconduct after sharing confidential game features, progress timelines, and IT security protocols in a Discord channel.
The studio has pointed to its history of strict confidentiality enforcement and a zero tolerance approach to leaks, arguing that the Discord channel in question was not private and posed a risk to Take-Two's share price. Former employees and union members describe a devastating fallout that left them stripped of their livelihoods and community just as the game approaches release. Meanwhile, the legal battle runs parallel to separate ongoing negotiations between Rockstar and the union regarding formal recognition, pay transparency, and protections against crunch and post-release layoffs.
The tribunal hearing is scheduled to run until mid-October, just a month before GTA 6 is set to launch. The dismissed workers are seeking reinstatement, compensation, and a formal ruling of unfair dismissal, while supporters are raising legal funds through merchandise rather than calling for a player boycott. As the case unfolds, it brings long-standing industry issues around labor rights, crunch culture, and corporate secrecy directly into the spotlight alongside one of the biggest entertainment releases in history.
Tags: GTA 6, Rockstar Games, Industry News, Labor Rights, Game Development
Original article: IGN South Africa