Rockstar Games, the video game developer behind Grand Theft Auto, has been accused of carrying out a “blatant and ruthless act of union busting” after allegedly firing more than 30 workers who claim they were attempting to unionise.
According to The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which represents workers in the video games industry, UK-based employees of the developer were fired last week for being members of the IWGB game workers union Discord channel. The workers claim to have been targeted for this reason, in what the union argues constitutes unlawful and retaliatory dismissals.
The Guardian has contacted Rockstar Games for comment. In a statement to Bloomberg, the developer accused the fired workers of sharing confidential company information in a “public forum”, claiming that “this was in no way related to people’s right to join a union or engage in union activities.”
The IWGB refuted this, saying that workers only communicated in private and on legally protected trade union channels, and did not leak any information publicly.
The dismissals come ahead of the release of Grand Theft Auto VI, which analysts predict will be the biggest gaming launch of all time and generate billions in sales. According to games publisher Take-Two’s most recent financial reports, its predecessor Grand Theft Auto V has generated $8.6bn since its 2013 release.
On Thursday, the union organised demonstrations outside the UK head office of Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games’ parent company, in London and Rockstar North, the developer’s Edinburgh office. One person held a sign that read: “Grand Theft Employment” and another displayed a placard that said: “Union busted?”, referencing the “busted” screen that flashes up when a Grand Theft Auto player is caught by police.
IWGB organiser Fred Carter joined workers at the Edinburgh picket. He told the BBC he was there to support staff who had been fired “without warning” and “without reason”.
“They’ve been fired, we believe, because they’re union members – which is a protected activity in the UK,” he said. “We’re asking people to come out and support us, to demand their jobs back and demand accountability from Rockstar.”
In a statement provided by IWGB, Peter (not his real name), one of workers fired by Rockstar Games last week said: “It’s heartwarming to see so many of our colleagues supporting us and holding management to account – 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.”
IWGB president Alex Marshall said Rockstar Games is “afraid of hard working staff privately discussing exercising their rights for a fairer workplace and a collective voice.”
“Management are showing they don’t care about delays to GTA VI, and that they’re prioritising union busting by targeting the very people who make the game. In recent years, Rockstar have benefited from [tens of millions] in tax relief … the only non Rockstar employees in the union Discord channel were union organisers,” Marshall said.
Efforts to unionise the video games industry have gathered pace in recent years to fight back against longstanding industry practises such as “crunch” – long hours of unpaid overtime in the run-up to highly anticipated releases. In 2018, Rockstar’s co-founder Dan Houser said workers “were working 100-hour weeks” in the run-up to the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, prompting scrutiny over the company’s treatment of employees. At the time, Rockstar North’s Rob Nelson responded directly: “We are always trying to improve how we are working and balance what we are making with how we make it, and we will not stop working to improve in this area.”
On Thursday, the developer announced that Grand Theft Auto VI, which was due to release on 26 May, had been delayed to the end of 2026. The game’s development, which has been delayed for a second time, is being anchored by the Edinburgh team.
