It seems the internal situation has just got a whole lot more complicated for Rockstar Games as now over 200 developers of the studio have signed letters in demand of reinstating their colleagues after they were fired on the ground of “gross misconduct”, as described by the company.
In last month, around 30 to 40 employees across offices in the United Kingdom and Canada were fired by Rockstar who were also members of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain, who has called out Rockstar’s actions as “the most ruthless act of union busting in the history of the games industry.”
And despite Rockstar explaining that the workers were not fired cause they were part of a union but solely due to the fact that those employees were leaking sensitive company information, the workers themselves have denied this allegation completely. The fired members have also been joined by current employees for protests outside of the offices of both Rockstar and its parent company Take-Two Interactive recently with more dates for protests planned for their offices in London and Paris later this week. Moreover, the IWGB has filed formal legal claims against Rockstar which may lead to a future battle in court.
“It’s heartwarming to see so many of our colleagues supporting us and holding management to account–during a period where Rockstar want us to feel scared, my brave former colleagues are marching straight up to our boss’s door and demanding our voices are heard and not backing down,” wrote one of the former employees of the studio whose actual name was withheld.
“It’s clear to everyone close to this situation that this is a blatant, unapologetic act of vicious union busting. Rockstar employs so many talented game developers, all of whom are crucial to making the games we put out.”
Overall, the current situation can certainly stain Rockstar’s reputation as a company in more ways than one which wouldn’t be desirable for obvious reasons, especially at a time when the entire world is waiting for Rockstar Games’ upcoming Open World behemoth GTA 6 which is currently slated to launch for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on May 26, 2026.
