According to Windows Central, Rockstar Games fired between 30 and 40 employees last week across its UK and Canada studios. The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain claims these workers were all discussing unionization in a Discord group chat. IWGB President Alex Marshall called it “one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry.” Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two Interactive defended the firings as being for “gross misconduct” only. Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA has publicly expressed solidarity with the affected workers. This comes as Grand Theft Auto 6 remains scheduled for its May 26, 2026 release after being delayed out of 2024.
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The timing couldn’t be worse
Here’s the thing: Rockstar is firing people for union discussions while working on what’s probably the most anticipated game of the decade. GTA 6 is expected to generate billions, yet the company appears to be cracking down on the very people making it happen. It’s a terrible look, especially when the gaming industry is finally starting to unionize in meaningful ways.
And let’s be honest – “gross misconduct” for talking about unions in a Discord chat? That seems like a stretch. Either Rockstar has evidence of something much worse, or this is exactly what the union claims it is: union-busting disguised as disciplinary action.
The gaming union wave is real
While Rockstar pushes back, unionization efforts across gaming are gaining serious momentum. Microsoft-owned studios have been particularly active – we’re seeing unions form at Blizzard across World of Warcraft, Overwatch 2, Diablo, and multiple other teams. Activision QA, Bethesda, ZeniMax – they’re all organizing.
Some of these unions are already ratifying contracts, which is huge. The ZeniMax QA team actually worked out a contract, showing that management and labor can negotiate successfully. So why is Rockstar taking such a hardline approach?
When actors back game developers
It’s significant that SAG-AFTRA weighed in on this. The actors’ union knows a thing or two about fighting for workers’ rights after their own high-profile strikes. Their solidarity suggests this isn’t just a minor labor dispute – it’s becoming a industry-wide issue.
Basically, when the people who voice your characters are calling out your labor practices, you’ve got a PR problem. Rockstar might be banking on GTA 6’s hype overshadowing these allegations, but in today’s climate, that’s a risky bet.
What this means for GTA 6
The big question is whether this labor unrest will affect the game’s development or release. Rockstar has already delayed GTA 6 once, pushing it to 2026. Now they’re creating more internal turmoil right in the home stretch.
Look, game development is stressful enough without workers worrying they’ll get fired for discussing their rights. If Rockstar wants to deliver the polished experience fans expect, they might want to focus less on union-busting and more on supporting their development teams. Because right now, they’re playing a dangerous game with their most valuable asset: the people making GTA 6 happen.
