Rockstar Denies Union-Busting Claims at GTA 6 Tribunal

A preliminary employment tribunal hearing took place in Glasgow regarding the dismissal of 34 Rockstar Games employees. The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is seeking interim relief for the affected staff.

Rockstar Games maintains that the terminations were justified due to breaches of confidentiality. The dispute centers on whether the employees were fired for union activities or for leaking sensitive game details.

The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) appeared before a judge at the Glasgow Tribunals Centre on Monday, January 5. The union presented a case requesting interim relief for the 31 UK-based developers who were dismissed by Rockstar Games late last year. Three additional developers were fired in Canada.

Interim relief is a legal mechanism designed to provide support to workers while they await a full hearing. If the judge grants this request, the dismissed employees would be placed back on Rockstar's payroll immediately. Additionally, any necessary work visas would be reinstated, allowing the workers to remain in the country.

The hearing follows a series of protests that occurred outside Rockstar North in Edinburgh and the London office of parent company Take-Two. The IWGB represents the affected staff in the United Kingdom and is arguing that the dismissals were unlawful.

The IWGB alleges that Rockstar Games engaged in union-busting tactics. According to the union, the workers were fired because they were organizing for better working conditions. The IWGB refutes Rockstar's claim that the employees leaked information, insisting that the workers "only communicated in private and legally-protected trade union channels."

In a statement, the IWGB expressed confidence in their legal position regardless of the interim ruling. "We remain confident in the strength of the case we have brought against Rockstar Games," the union stated. They emphasized that the case is about the "arrogance of a company like Rockstar thinking that its size and profitability grant it an unlimited licence to abuse its workers."

The union argues that the dismissals have turned the workers' lives "upside down," leaving them and their families without income or secure futures. They view the case as a broader fight for workers' rights globally.

Rockstar Games categorically denies the allegations of union-busting. A company spokesperson stated that the dismissals were necessary due to a breach of confidentiality policies. Rockstar claims the employees discussed "highly confidential information," including features for GTA 6 and other unannounced titles, in an "insecure and public social channel."

The company provided specific details regarding the nature of the channel in question. According to Rockstar:

• The channel contained at least 25 non-Rockstar employees.
• Participants included employees of competitor game developers.
• A video games industry journalist was present in the channel.
• Dozens of anonymous, unidentifiable members had access.

Rockstar insists that employees who posted union-supportive messages but did not breach confidentiality were not dismissed. The company stated, "This was never about union membership." They maintain a zero-tolerance approach to unauthorized information releases to protect the creative and commercial integrity of their products.

The core of the legal battle involves the nature of the Discord channel where the alleged leaks occurred. The IWGB claims the channel was private and used for official union organizing. However, Rockstar argues that the channel was not private and was accessible to hundreds of users, including competitors and media.

Rockstar also addressed the claim of a "blacklist" of union members. The company denied the existence of such a list, noting that at the time of the dismissals, they did not know whether the claimants were union members. Therefore, they could not have targeted them specifically for union activity.

The tribunal must now weigh these conflicting accounts. The judge will decide whether the evidence supports the granting of interim relief or if Rockstar's justification for the terminations holds weight pending a full trial.