Grand Theft Auto studio accused of ‘union busting’ after sacking workers

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) maker Rockstar Video games has been accused by a commerce union of sacking workers within the UK to cease them from unionising.

The Unbiased Employees’ Union of Nice Britain (IWGB), which represents individuals working within the gaming sector, mentioned 31 employees had been fired from Rockstar’s UK studios on 30 October.

The union led rallies exterior the corporate’s workplaces in Edinburgh and London on Thursday to protest what it described as “probably the most blatant and ruthless act of union busting within the historical past of the video games trade”.

The BBC has approached Rockstar’s mother or father firm, Take-Two Interactive, for remark, which has reportedly claimed workers had been sacked for sharing confidential info.

“Final week, we took motion in opposition to a small variety of people who had been discovered to be distributing and discussing confidential info in a public discussion board, a violation of our firm insurance policies,” a Rockstar spokesperson told Bloomberg in a statement.

“This was on no account associated to individuals’s proper to hitch a union or have interaction in union actions.”

At massive online game studios, details about sport growth is tightly managed – with staff typically signing agreements to not share confidential info.

Rockstar’s upcoming GTA 6 is anticipated to be one of many best-selling video games of all time, with followers clamouring for any information forward of its Could 2026 launch date – that means safety round any info will likely be heightened on the studio.

However union president Alex Marshall accused Rockstar of deflecting from the “actual purpose” for firing workers – which the IWGB believes is their union involvement.

“They’re afraid of arduous working workers privately discussing exercising their rights for a fairer office and a collective voice,” he mentioned.

“Administration are displaying they do not care about delays to GTA VI, and that they are prioritising union busting by concentrating on the very individuals who make the sport.”

In response to the IWGB, the UK employees fired on the finish of October had been a part of a gaggle discussing forming a union on the firm.

Mr Marshall mentioned its solely non-Rockstar staff had been union organisers.

Chatting with the BBC at a picket exterior the Rockstar North workplace in Edinburgh, organiser Fred Carter mentioned he was standing alongside workers who had been sacked “with out warning” and “with out purpose”.

“They have been fired, we imagine, as a result of they’re union members – which is a protected exercise within the UK,” he mentioned.

“We’re asking individuals to return out and help us, to demand their jobs again and demand accountability from Rockstar.”

After clips from Grand Theft Auto 6 had been leaked on-line following a hack in 2022, Rockstar said it price the agency $5m (£3.8m) and 1000’s of hours of workers time to get better.

However Mr Marshall of the IWGB mentioned the corporate’s transfer to dismiss greater than 30 UK employees confirmed it had “chosen income over each employees and followers of their video games”.