Suddenly fired Rockstar employees call for reinstatement and to finish GTA 6

Rockstar employees who were abruptly fired from the company are calling for reinstatement so they can finish working on Grand Theft Auto 6.

3-minute read time

TL;DR: Rockstar Games fired 31 UK employees, mostly veteran developers, citing gross misconduct linked to alleged confidential leaks, which the workers deny. The dismissals sparked union-busting accusations and protests, with calls for reinstatement, compensation, and accountability amid concerns over fair employment practices and GTA 6's delayed release.

Grand Theft Auto 6 isn't the only news surrounding Rockstar Games as the UK studio abruptly fired thirty-one workers over what it described as gross misconduct, but if you asked those now former employees, many of whom are veteran Rockstar developers, the studio was merely union-busting.

Those fired employees are now protesting outside Rockstar North in the UK, with many voicing their opinions on why the studio let them go, stating that Rockstar didn't provide any evidence of their alleged gross misconduct and that they were fired without due process or proper representation. According to Rockstar, the now former employees were leaking confidential information on a public forum, but the employees who were fired said they had never been shown any evidence of such leaks.

The employees and the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) allege Rockstar simply wanted to break up the union that was forming, with the employees pointing to each of the fired employees being union members and the UK currently preparing to pass the Employment Rights Bill, which will provide elevated security for workers at the beginning of next year.

• Read more: GTA 6 developer reveals morale at the studio is at 'rock bottom,' fears of third delay
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Additionally, it's odd that Rockstar would fire several veteran developers right as it's nearing the completion of Grand Theft Auto 6, and then delay the game's release until November 19, 2026, for further polishing. It seems you would want as many hands on deck for the development of that title, especially given that it's now in the home stretch and many of those employees were veterans at the studio.

"If I have gross misconduct on my CV, on my resume for the rest of my life, that is a huge detriment to any future career prospects. Something important to notice as well is you feel shame to be kicked out of work this way. Like, all of us still want to be here. We want our jobs, we want to finish what we were working on. And now the internal shame feel of having this gross misconduct with you forever, it's hard to explain," said one of the employees

"The immediate goal here is very clear. It's the reinstatement of all 31 workers in the UK who've been fired and the three workers in Toronto. We know that our sister union in Canada is working to support. It's a reinstatement for those workers. It's full compensation for pay lost during this period. It's clear accountability for the way these dismissals have been handled, these very clear, unfair dismissals without procedure, without evidence. So clear accountability from the company, and a commitment to following employment law in the UK in the future.

What happens next is up to Rockstar. I just wanna be really clear. [...] We've just submitted our legal claim. The ball is in their court to respond. We hope they'll resolve this with us amicably, right? This is, in the end, egregious, and to be honest, shocking. I have never seen a thing like this, not just in the game sector, but in UK trade union organising in the last 20 years. This is the moment where Rockstar can make that right.

These are workers who just want to go back to work, to work on a game that they love. If they don't, they've seen what they have to contend with. The force of public feeling is against them on this, and we'll continue to put pressure on them through legal, through demonstrations, speaking about what these workers have experienced," said an organizer from the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB)