Grand Theft Auto maker Rockstar Games says it fired more than 30 employees in the UK for sharing company information in a forum that included non-employees—not for engaging in trade union activity.
Last week, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) said over 30 people had been ousted by Take-Two Interactive subsidiary Rockstar for attempting to improve their working conditions by joining a union. Take-Two and Rockstar initially said those employees were fired for “gross misconduct” but have now expanded on those comments.
“We took action against a small number of individuals who were found to be distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum, a violation of our company policies,” a Rockstar spokesperson told Bloomberg. “This was in no way related to people’s right to join a union or engage in union activities.”
In a statement sent to Game Developer, an IWGB spokesperson said Rockstar is attempting to “deflect” from the truth and remains afraid of “hard working staff privately discussing and 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 prioritizing union busting by targeting the very people who make the game,” they added. “In recent years, Rockstar executives have benefited from £443 million in tax relief, while showing total disregard for the law or the livelihoods of their staff. At every turn, they’ve chosen profits over both workers and fans of their games.”
Crucially, the IWGB said UK workers have a statutory right to engage in private conversation with union organizers that supersedes any employment contract.
Those discussions took place via a private Discord channel that all of the fired workers had joined. IWGB said members of that Discord channel never discussed Rockstar products or titles.
Today’s update comes just hours after a group of IWGB members and supporters protested outside Take-Two’s headquarters in London to demand the reinstatement of every single fired employee. “Rockstar Games fired 30+ IWGB union members for no other reason than to terrorize and silence them,” reads a post on Bluesky promoting the picket.
Game Developer has reached out to Take-Two Interactive for comment.
