Rockstar has pushed back against accusations of union busting after more than 30 staff were let go last week, saying the dismissals followed the discovery of a small number of employees sharing confidential material in public forums. The company provided the statement to Bloomberg, saying the actions violated company policy and were not related to people joining or attempting to form a union.
The parent company, Take-Two, previously described the firings, which affected teams across Rockstar’s UK and Canada offices, as resulting from “gross misconduct.” The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain pushed back hard, saying many of those dismissed were current union members or organizers, and calling the move exceptionally harsh. That dispute is still unfolding and has added fuel to an already tense moment for a studio with one of gaming’s most significant releases on the way.
Rockstar has good reason to be paranoid about leaks. The studio told a UK court in 2023 that a massive GTA 6 leak had cost it $5 million and “thousands of hours of staff time,” which it cites to justify tighter security and stricter enforcement. The scale of that earlier breach is part of why Rockstar framed the recent firings as a response to public distribution of information.
GTA 6 launches May 26 for PS5 and Xbox Series X. We previously covered related executive comments about the series and technology in a piece on Take-Two’s stance toward generative AI that you can read for context. For now the situation presents two clear narratives – Rockstar framing the move as protecting confidential work, and labour advocates viewing the timing and targets through the lens of organising efforts. Neither side has fully resolved its case yet, and more clarity may come as legal and internal reviews continue.
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