Grand Theft Auto studio accused of ‘union busting’ after sacking staff

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) maker Rockstar Video games has been accused by a commerce union of sacking workers within the UK to cease them from unionising.

The Unbiased Employees’ Union of Nice Britain (IWGB), which represents folks working within the gaming sector, mentioned 31 staff have been fired from Rockstar’s UK studios on 30 October.

The union led rallies exterior the corporate’s workplaces in Edinburgh and London on Thursday to protest what it described as “probably the most blatant and ruthless act of union busting within the historical past of the video games business”.

The BBC has approached Rockstar’s father or mother firm, Take-Two Interactive, for remark, which has reportedly claimed workers have been sacked for sharing confidential data.

“Final week, we took motion towards a small variety of people who have been discovered to be distributing and discussing confidential data in a public discussion board, a violation of our firm insurance policies,” a Rockstar spokesperson advised Bloomberg in a press release.

“This was under no circumstances associated to folks’s proper to affix a union or interact in union actions.”

At massive online game studios, details about sport growth is tightly managed – with staff usually signing agreements to not share confidential data.

Rockstar’s upcoming GTA 6 is anticipated to be one of many best-selling video games of all time, with followers clamouring for any information forward of its Might 2026 launch date – that means safety round any data can be heightened on the studio.

However union president Alex Marshall accused Rockstar of deflecting from the “actual purpose” for firing workers – which the IWGB believes is their union involvement.

“They’re afraid of onerous working workers privately discussing exercising their rights for a fairer office and a collective voice,” he mentioned.

“Administration are displaying they do not care about delays to GTA 6, and that they are prioritising union busting by focusing on the very individuals who make the sport.”

In line with the IWGB, the UK staff fired on the finish of October have been a part of a gaggle discussing forming a union on the firm.

Mr Marshall mentioned its solely non-Rockstar staff have been union organisers.

“We refute that confidential data was shared publicly,” IWGB mentioned in a press release.

Dr Paolo Ruffino, senior lecturer in digital curation and computational creativity at Kings Faculty London, mentioned it was a “textbook” case of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) being utilized by gaming corporations.

“They’re used at each stage in gaming, making a tradition of secrecy that makes investigating working circumstances almost unimaginable,” he mentioned.

“The true query is whether or not these dismissals have been about leaked data or protected union exercise – a distinction UK employment regulation requires however which NDA allegations make tough to show.”

Talking to the BBC at a picket exterior the Rockstar North workplace in Edinburgh, organiser Fred Carter mentioned he was standing alongside workers who had been sacked “with out warning” and “with out purpose”.

“They have been fired, we imagine, as a result of they’re union members – which is a protected exercise within the UK,” he mentioned.

“We’re asking folks to come back out and help us, to demand their jobs again and demand accountability from Rockstar.”

One of many dismissed staff talking on the Edinburgh rally mentioned there was a “energy imbalance” at play in conversations with administration.

“Not everyone seems to be comfy talking up, and even while you do you may get shut down since you’re only one particular person,” they mentioned.