Former developers at Rockstar Games have officially gone public with their union, the Rockstar Game Workers Union, following a series of controversial layoffs seven months ago. The announcement, made on Thursday, May 28, coincides with the confirmation that an official employment tribunal hearing date has been secured.
The dispute stems from an incident on October 30, 2025, when Rockstar Games terminated 31 developers across its United Kingdom studios in a single day. Affected office personnel were reportedly escorted from the premises, while remote employees faced immediate revocation of corporate account access.
According to representatives from the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), all of the dismissed personnel were active members of the IWGB's Rockstar branch.
The union has publicly characterized the mass terminations as an act of "union busting". Furthermore, the IWGB alleged that Rockstar reported terminated employees holding sponsored visas to the UK Home Office, resulting in severe personal disruption, including the potential loss of residency for impacted staff.
Conversely, Rockstar Games maintains that the dismissals were strictly disciplinary, citing gross misconduct related to the alleged sharing of confidential information within a public forum. The publisher has consistently denied that union affiliation influenced its decision.
The IWGB, however, disputes this characterization, asserting that the platform in question was a private, union-managed Discord channel.
The initial layoffs triggered widespread demonstrations across several major global tech hubs, including London, Edinburgh, Paris, and New York. In response to the studio's actions, over 200 current Rockstar employees signed a petition demanding the reinstatement of their former colleagues.
The situation also garnered political attention when UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed the matter in Parliament, stating that government ministers would review the case.
Despite the ongoing friction, the union reports that its membership has expanded across all five of Rockstar’s UK offices. Moving forward, the Rockstar Game Workers Union has outlined three core systemic demands: enhanced pay transparency, flexible working arrangements, and the eradication of mandatory overtime ("crunches").
While the specific date for the upcoming employment tribunal hearing has been finalized, the union has not yet disclosed the schedule to the public.
Grand Theft Auto VI was officially revealed in December 2023, though Rockstar first confirmed development in early 2022, marking over six years of active production. Despite the long wait and recent rumors surrounding potential delays, Take-Two Interactive put fans' minds at ease in its May earnings report. GTA 6 is officially locked in to launch on current-gen consoles on November 19, 2026.