Rockstar Games, the developer behind the decade's most anticipated title, Grand Theft Auto 6, is at the center of a massive labor scandal this week. The studio has reportedly fired 30 to 40 employees across its offices in the United Kingdom and Canada, in a move that a prominent trade union is calling "one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry."
The controversy erupted after reports from outlets like Bloomberg, PCMag, and Eurogamer confirmed the terminations. According to the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB), all of the fired employees were members of a private Discord channel where staff discussed unionizing and labor rights.
The Accusation: "Blatant and Ruthless"
The IWGB, which represents game workers in the UK, has issued a powerful condemnation of Rockstar's actions. In a statement widely reported, union president Alex Marshall did not mince words:
"Rockstar has just carried out one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry," Marshall said. "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."
The union alleges that the firings are a direct, illegal retaliation against employees for attempting to organize. The IWGB also highlighted the severe immediate consequences for those affected, noting that some of the terminated staff were on company-sponsored visas and others with medical conditions will now lose their workplace healthcare.
The union has vowed to "fight for every member to be reinstated" and is pursuing legal action.
The Company's Defense: "Gross Misconduct"
Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, has forcefully denied the union's allegations. In a statement provided to the press, a company spokesperson, Alan Lewis, attributed the firings to entirely different reasons.
"Rockstar Games terminated a small number of individuals for gross misconduct, and for no other reason," the statement reads. "As always, we fully support Rockstar's ambitions and approach."
The company has not provided any specific details on what constituted the "gross misconduct" or why it simultaneously affected dozens of employees across multiple countries—all of whom happened to be involved in union discussions.
A Troubled Road to GTA 6
This incident is the latest in a series of labor-related tensions at the notoriously secretive developer. Rockstar has faced significant public criticism in the past for its intense "crunch culture," particularly during the development of Red Dead Redemption 2.
More recently, the studio mandated a strict five-day-a-week return to the office for all staff, a move that was deeply unpopular with many employees. At the time, Rockstar management cited productivity and security concerns as GTA 6 enters its final stages of development.
With Grand Theft Auto 6 scheduled for a May 2026 release, this new scandal plunges the studio into a legal and public relations battle, casting a serious shadow over the final push for what is expected to be one of the biggest entertainment launches in history.
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