Rockstar Games has fired around 40 employees across its UK and Canada offices, prompting a trade union to accuse the GTA 6 developer of union-busting. Take-Two says the firings were due to “gross misconduct.”
Rockstar Games, the studio behind the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6, is under fire this week after reportedly firing up to 40 employees across its offices in the UK and Canada. According to a new report from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) claims the terminations were part of a union-busting effort, a claim Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, flatly denies.
The IWGB says everyone fired had been part of a private Discord group for union members or employees organizing at Rockstar. In a statement, union president Alex Marshall called it “one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry,” accusing Rockstar of showing “flagrant contempt for the law and for the lives of the workers who bring in their billions,” which is “an insult to their fans and the global industry.”
Rockstar Games Accused of Union Busting After Firing Dozens of Employees
Take-Two’s spokesperson Alan Lewis pushed back on that accusation, saying the staff were let go for “gross misconduct, and for no other reason.” He added that the publisher “fully support Rockstar’s ambitions and approach.”
This isn’t the first time Rockstar’s internal culture has drawn attention. The company already faced backlash last year for mandating a full five-day return to office, citing security reasons as it moves into the final phase of GTA 6 development.
Earlier this year, reports suggested Rockstar may be doing more than just building the world and story of GTA 6; it may be changing how music works in the game. Grammy-winning producer Jermaine Dupri said artists could directly upload unreleased tracks into GTA 6, and specifically mentioned Drake potentially having his own in-game radio station to premiere exclusive music.
There were also reports of new GTA 6-related domain registrations linked to Rockstar and Take-Two, hinting at in-game websites and parody mobile apps connected to Leonida. These domains line up with what players have seen so far: fake government portals, dating apps, local services, and other pieces of worldbuilding that make Leonida feel like a full modern state, not just a map.
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