Rockstar faces legal action over alleged unlawful Grand Theft Auto 6 developer dismissals

Rockstar Games faces legal action from the IWGB over alleged unlawful dismissals linked to union activity

Rockstar Games is facing legal action from the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) following allegations that the studio unlawfully dismissed staff involved in union activity during the development of Grand Theft Auto 6.

The IWGB has filed a formal claim accusing Rockstar of “victimisation and collective dismissal linked to trade union activity.” The dispute follows the reported termination of between 30 and 40 employees in late October, which the studio described as dismissals for “gross misconduct.”

At the time, the IWGB alleged that all affected staff were members of a private Discord server used to coordinate the newly formed Rockstar Games Workers Union. Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, denied the accusations, telling Bloomberg that the terminations were “for gross misconduct, and for no other reason.”

Rockstar later said that the employees were “leaking company secrets,” adding that the decision “was in no way related to people’s right to join a union or engage in union activities.”

The IWGB stated that Rockstar declined multiple requests to meet before the legal claim was submitted. “Despite our representation and attempts to meet with Rockstar to resolve the matter through negotiation, Rockstar have declined and persisted to terminate members of the union in a manner that is unacceptable and unlawful,” the union’s legal team told Eurogamer.

IWGB president Alex Marshall described the situation as “plain and simple union busting,” saying that “private spaces such as trade union Discord servers have protections” under UK law.

The legal filing follows ongoing protests outside Rockstar’s Edinburgh offices, where dismissed staff told People Make Games they “just wanted to finish what [they] were working on.” Rockstar has not issued further comment. Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently set for release in November 2026.