Video game giant Rockstar Games is facing serious allegations of union busting after terminating more than 30 employees at its UK offices last week. The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) claims the developer engaged in unlawful retaliation against staff attempting to organise.
Mass dismissals spark union outrage
According to the IWGB, which represents workers in the video games industry, Rockstar Games fired the employees specifically for their membership in a union-affiliated Discord channel. The union describes this as a "blatant and ruthless act of union busting" and argues the dismissals constitute unlawful retaliation against legally protected union activities.
Rockstar Games responded to Bloomberg with a statement claiming the terminations resulted from employees sharing confidential company information in a "public forum." The developer insisted that "this was in no way related to people's right to join a union or engage in union activities."
The IWGB strongly refuted this explanation, maintaining that workers only communicated in private, legally protected trade union channels and did not leak any information publicly.
Protests erupt outside UK offices
On Thursday, the union organised demonstrations outside both the London headquarters of Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar's parent company, and the developer's Edinburgh office, Rockstar North. Protesters displayed creative signs referencing the company's most famous franchise, including one that read: "Grand Theft Employment" and another asking "Union busted?" - a clever play on the game's "busted" screen that appears when players are caught by police.
IWGB organiser Fred Carter joined the Edinburgh picket, telling the BBC he was supporting staff fired "without warning" and "without reason." He stated: "They've been fired, we believe, because they're union members - which is a protected activity in the UK."
Broader context of industry unionisation efforts
The controversy emerges as efforts to unionise the video games industry have gained momentum in recent years. Workers have been pushing back against longstanding industry practices such as "crunch" - periods of intense, unpaid overtime leading up to major game releases.
Rockstar itself faced scrutiny in 2018 when co-founder Dan Houser revealed workers "were working 100-hour weeks" during the development of Red Dead Redemption 2. At the time, Rockstar North's Rob Nelson responded that the company was "always trying to improve how we are working" in this area.
The timing is particularly sensitive as Rockstar recently announced a second delay for Grand Theft Auto VI, pushing its release to late 2026. Analysts predict the game will become the biggest gaming launch of all time, potentially generating billions in sales. For context, its predecessor Grand Theft Auto V has earned $8.6 billion since its 2013 release according to Take-Two's financial reports.
IWGB president Alex Marshall accused Rockstar management of being "afraid of hard working staff privately discussing exercising their rights for a fairer workplace and a collective voice." He noted that the company has benefited from tens of millions in tax relief while targeting "the very people who make the game."
One fired employee, identified only as Peter, expressed gratitude for colleague support, stating: "It's clear to everyone close to this situation that this is a blatant, unapologetic act of vicious union busting."
