GTA 6 studio Rockstar Games has been accused of union busting, following the reported firing of dozens of employees who had allegedly been part of a ‘private trade union chat group’ on Discord.
The news was first reported by Bloomberg, which alleged 30-40 employees across the United Kingdom and Canada had recently been fired, with all of them belonging to a trade union chat group. It’s believed some were members of a union, while others were ‘attempting to organise’.
The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain has slammed the move, alleging it is ‘one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry’, and calling the action an ‘insult’ to gaming fans and the industry at large.
Rockstar Games firings – quick links
Take-Two responds to union busting allegations
A spokesperson for Take-Two, parent company of Rockstar Games, has denied the allegations of union busting, and claimed the firings were purely for ‘gross misconduct, and for no other reason’. They said the company ‘fully support[s] Rockstar’s ambitions and approach.’
Update 6/11: Speaking to Bloomberg following media reports and public backlash, Rockstar Games claimed the employees were fired for leaking company information, and not due to their union activity.
‘Last week, we took action against a small number of individuals who were found to be distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum, a violation of our company policies,’ a spokesperson said. ‘This was in no way related to people’s right to join a union or engage in union activities.’
It’s currently unclear what incident led to the reported firing of these employees, and what constituted the alleged ‘gross misconduct’.
Per a public statement, the IWGB will be fighting for all employees to be reinstated, with ‘a full and robust defence of its members’ currently in development.
What’s next for Rockstar Games’ unionised workers?
‘Despite this calculated attack on workers organising for a collective voice and to improve their difficult working conditions, the Rockstar Union remains undeterred,’ Alex Marshall, IWGB president said. ‘They will keep organising for respect and better conditions whilst continuing to pour their blood, sweat and creativity into games that are loved by millions.
‘The IWGB will pursue every legal claim possible to ensure our members are reinstated and receive interim relief,’ Marshall said.
As noted by Spring Mcparlin-Jones, Chair of the IWGB Game Workers Union, Rockstar Games’ GTA 6 is expected to make ‘upwards of USD $10 billion’ when it launches in 2026.
‘Such a flagrant attack on workers’ rights from such a valuable studio sends a very clear and shocking message to the world, that money matters more than people,’ Mcparlin-Jones said.
Also on ScreenHub: Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMO has reportedly been cancelled
Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMO adaptation has reportedly been cancelled, following significant layoffs at the company and a major restructure within its gaming division. The news was shared on LinkedIn by a former employee of Amazon Games (via RPS), who posted a farewell referring to this Lord of the Rings MMO in the past tense.
‘This morning I was part of the layoffs at Amazon Games, alongside my incredibly talented peers on New World and our fledgling Lord of the Rings game (y’all would have loved it),’ they wrote. While the cancellation of the game has not specifically been confirmed, the news wouldn’t be surprising, given Amazon’s post-mortem note on its recent layoffs. Per a memo from Steve Boom, Vice President of Audio, Twitch, and Games at Amazon, the company has chosen to move away from MMOs and large-scale AAA development.
‘While we’re proud of our successes in first-party AAA game development and publishing, we have made the difficult decision to halt a significant amount of our first-party AAA game development work – specifically around MMOs – within Amazon Game Studios, including making significant role reductions in our studios in Irvine and San Diego, as well as our central publishing team,’ Boom said in a memo sent to The Verge and other media outlets. As part of these changes, Amazon’s four-year-old New World MMO also had its development ended, with no new updates in the works.
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