By Grand Theft Auto 6 is slightly more than six months away, yet there’s something developing at the game’s creator, Rockstar Games. The studio dismissed between 30 and 40 employees from its locations in the United Kingdom and Canada earlier this week. The individuals who were let go were allegedly trying to form a union when they were terminated.
Bloomberg reported the incident, noting that all of those dismissed were members of a private trade union chat group on Discord. A representative for the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain stated that the group was comprised of both individuals who had already enrolled in the union and those aiming to organize a union at Rockstar.
“Rockstar has just undertaken one of the most overt and brutal acts of union suppression in the history of the gaming sector,” remarked IWGB president Alex Marshall in a statement. “This obvious disregard for the law and for the lives of the workers generating their billions is an affront to both their supporters and the worldwide industry.”
A representative from Rockstar’s parent organization, Take-Two Interactive, expressed support for Rockstar’s choice and claimed that the employees were let go “for gross misconduct, and for no other reason.”
This appears to be a type of conflict that may ultimately be resolved in a courtroom, contingent upon the decisions of the British and Canadian judicial systems. It could take a significant amount of time for this situation to unfold.
Recently, Rockstar Games published a job advertisement which anticipated that GTA 6 will boast the largest launch in video game history. This seems very plausible given that Grand Theft Auto 5 surpassed 215 million in sales earlier this year, and GTA Online remains a lucrative venture for the company.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick also mentioned that he is unconcerned about AI competing with GTA, and he has been fairly consistent in his evaluation of the technology.
GTA 6 will launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on May 26, 2026.
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