Rockstar fires more than 30 workers; the union calls it union-busting
Dismissals across UK studios weeks before launch season, now headed to a tribunal
Quick facts
- Dismissed
- 30+ workers across UK studios, late October 2025 (plus reported Canada dismissals)
- Rockstar's position
- Gross misconduct: leaking confidential information
- Union's position
- Victimization and collective dismissal for union activity
- Status
- All allegations cleared to proceed to tribunal trial (June 2026); undecided
What happened
At the end of October 2025, Rockstar dismissed more than 30 staff across its UK studios, with additional dismissals reported in Canada. Rockstar said the workers were fired for gross misconduct, specifically leaking confidential information. The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain said every UK worker dismissed was a member of its Game Workers Union organizing channel on Discord, called the firings the most blatant act of union-busting in the industry's history, and filed legal claims for victimization and collective dismissal linked to trade union activity. In June 2026, a UK employment tribunal allowed all of the workers' allegations to proceed to trial.
Why it matters
Whatever the tribunal decides, the dispute is part of Rockstar's history now: the studio behind the biggest launch in entertainment facing the games industry's most prominent labor case, in the middle of the GTA VI countdown. It is also a live test of how game studios handle organizing at scale.
How we know
This event is contested and we assert neither side's characterization. Rockstar's stated reason (gross misconduct, leaking) is reported by Game Developer; the union's account, numbers, and claims come from the IWGB's own statement, which is a primary source for what the union alleges, not for what happened; the tribunal development is from PC Gamer's June 2026 report. The case has not been decided, and this entry will be updated when it is.
Sources
- Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain. Staff at Grand Theft Auto VI developer Rockstar fired en masse (IWGB statement, the union's own account, November 2025) (2025) · Primary source (author-declared)iwgb.org.uk · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Game Developer. Rockstar hit with legal claims by IWGB over firing of unionizing workers (Game Developer, 12 November 2025) (2025) · Reputable sourcegamedeveloper.com · The domain "gamedeveloper.com" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- PC Gamer. UK tribunal allows fired Rockstar workers to bring union-busting allegations to trial (PC Gamer, June 2026) (2026) · Reputable sourcepcgamer.com · The domain "pcgamer.com" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link loads, but its text didn't clearly match the event's terms
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