Things aren’t sounding so hot over at Grand Theft Auto 6 developer Rockstar right now. Yesterday, a report came out from Bloomberg (paywalled) that a number of employees have been allegedly fired, with the UK’s IWGB Game Workers Union claiming it was an act of union busting. Two-Two, Rockstar’s parent company, have denied this allegation.
According to the report, alongside a post from the IWGB Game Workers Union’s Bluesky account, the roles of more than 30 staffers were “terminated” across both UK and Canadian offices Thursday this week. Bloomberg notes that all of the employees were apparently a part of a private Discord group chat revolving around trade unions, with members of this group either a part of the IWGB or were currently attempting to organise at Rockstar.
Rockstar: not only making history in terms of profits, but in enacting the most brazen act of union busting the games industry has ever seen.
Alex Marshall, president of IWGB, offered this statement: “Rockstar has just carried out one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry. 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.”
Take-Two spokesman Alan Lewis claims the firings were for “gross misconduct,” and for no other reason” and that “we fully support Rockstar’s ambitions and approach.” It does not appear any specifics over what said gross misconduct might have been shared.
Rockstar are no strangers to workplace controversies, including those involving crunch, though word on that front has been quieter in recent years.
As you’ll already be aware, the studio is currently working on GTA 6, which is currently slated for release in 2026.
