Why were GTA VI developers dismissed? Rockstar's firings and the union case

Rockstar dismissed 34 staff a year before GTA VI's release. It says they shared confidential information; their union says they were punished for organising. An employment tribunal will decide, and its last two days now fall on the eve of launch.

Verdict: Confirmed, Very High confidence: Rockstar dismissed 34 staff at the end of October 2025, 31 in the UK and three in Canada, and Take-Two called it gross misconduct. Rockstar says they distributed and discussed confidential information, including features of upcoming and unannounced games, in a public forum. Their union, the IWGB, says they were dismissed for union activity, calls it union busting, and has taken Rockstar to an employment tribunal. Not settled: which account is true. That is the tribunal's question, not ours, and it hasn't answered it yet. The final hearing opened in Glasgow on 10 September 2026 and now ends with closing submissions on 17 and 18 November. As of 16 October 2026 there is no judgment.

What happened to the Rockstar developers?

Rockstar dismissed them on 30 and 31 October 2025, and Bloomberg broke the story on 31 October. Later reports put the total at 34: 31 in the UK, most of them at Rockstar North in Edinburgh and the rest in Dundee and Lincoln, and three in Canada. 23 of them are now bringing the tribunal claim.

Take-Two, Rockstar's parent company, gave the first explanation that night: "Rockstar Games terminated a small number of individuals for gross misconduct, and for no other reason."

Why does Rockstar say it dismissed them?

Because, it says, they shared confidential information in a public forum. Its first statement, to Bloomberg about a week later: "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." It added: "This was in no way related to people's right to join a union or engage in union activities."

In December Rockstar went further. It told IGN the staff had "distributed and discussed confidential information (including specific game features from upcoming and unannounced titles) in a public forum, in breach of company policy and their legal obligations", and that claims linking the dismissals to union membership "are entirely false and misleading". It said the forum, a Discord server, included people who didn't work at Rockstar, and that pro-union staff who hadn't breached confidentiality were not dismissed.

What does the union say?

That they were dismissed for organising. The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) says all of the dismissed UK staff were its members, talking in a private union Discord channel, and called the dismissals "the most blatant and ruthless act of union busting in the history of the games industry". By 12 November 2025 it had issued legal claims alleging trade-union victimisation and blacklisting: compiling lists of union members in order to discriminate against them.

It answered Rockstar's December statement the next day: "littered with falsehoods and disinformation". The union says the conversations were about working conditions, not games, and that everyone in the channel was a Rockstar employee or union staff. Rockstar's reply: "they have no idea who was in this Discord."

Side by side, in each party's words:

Did the dismissals delay GTA VI?

No, according to Take-Two and to reporters' own sources. The delay to 19 November 2026 was announced a week after the dismissals. Take-Two called the two matters "entirely separate", and reporters at Bloomberg and Insider Gaming, citing their own sources, said the dismissals didn't cause it. The date has held since.

How did politicians and other unions react?

Those who spoke up backed the dismissed staff or asked for scrutiny. SAG-AFTRA, the US union whose members perform in Rockstar's games, said it stood in solidarity with the IWGB. Seven MPs signed an early day motion tabled by the SNP's Chris Law, asking the Culture Secretary to investigate the dismissals "as a potential case of anti-union discrimination". The IWGB says 220 Rockstar staff signed letters asking management to reinstate their colleagues. The dismissed staff and supporters protested outside Rockstar North and Take-Two's London office, and the union organised more, including in Paris.

It reached Prime Minister's Questions on 10 December 2025. Chris Murray, the Labour MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, said Rockstar had fired 31 employees "without providing evidence or union representation". Keir Starmer replied: "That is a deeply concerning case. Every worker has the right to join a trade union", and said ministers would look into it. In May 2026 Murray and two other Edinburgh MPs called on Rockstar to cooperate transparently and give the dismissed staff a right of appeal. These are politicians' views, not findings.

What has the tribunal decided so far?

Two preliminary rulings, one each way. Neither decides the case.

In January 2026 the tribunal refused interim relief, which would have kept the dismissed staff on Rockstar's payroll until the full hearing. The judge said the tribunal couldn't conclude that union membership was likely the principal reason for the dismissals. The judgment also noted the staff were dismissed with little or no notice and without disciplinary hearings, and left the real test, whether Rockstar's explanation stands up, to the final hearing. Rockstar said: "We regret that we were put in a position where dismissals were necessary, but we stand by our course of action." The IWGB called interim relief "an incredibly high bar".

In June 2026, the IWGB announced, the tribunal refused Rockstar's request to strike out the blacklisting claims, so every allegation goes to the final hearing. Rockstar didn't comment publicly. That is a ruling about what gets heard, not about who is right.

The case has also produced the only documented detail of GTA VI multiplayer testing: Rockstar's own filings quote a developer's message about a large 32-player session. That's a playtest, not a final player count.

When will the tribunal rule on the Rockstar dismissals?

Not before 18 November 2026. The final hearing opened at Glasgow Tribunals Centre on 10 September and was listed to end on 16 October. Over five weeks the tribunal heard witnesses from both sides, including Rockstar executives and dismissed staff. Questioning ran long, and the judge gave Rockstar's lawyers more time to cross-examine some of the dismissed staff. So the closing submissions, each side's final arguments, are now set for 17 and 18 November: the two days before GTA VI's release.

The judge decides after that. No date has been given for the judgment. Rockstar's position going in: "We reject the claims and will defend them vigorously before the tribunal."

This page names none of the people Rockstar dismissed or employs, and doesn't relay the hearing's evidence witness by witness: none of it has been weighed by the judge yet.

Is there a union at Rockstar now?

There is one, but Rockstar doesn't formally recognise it yet. On 28 May 2026 Rockstar staff launched the Rockstar Game Workers Union, part of the IWGB, with members at the Edinburgh, London, Leeds, Lincoln and Dundee studios. Its first aims: pay transparency, flexible working and an end to crunch. It has also asked fans not to boycott GTA VI, and to support the dismissed workers' legal costs instead.

On 30 June workers asked Rockstar to recognise the union voluntarily, which would make it the second UK games studio with a recognised union. Rockstar replied: "We value an open and constructive dialogue with all stakeholders and will arrange to meet." On 22 July the union said a first meeting had agreed a roadmap for negotiations; that is its account, and Rockstar hasn't described the meeting. If the talks fail, the union says it will apply for statutory recognition.

On 1 July, Game Developer published accounts from three anonymous union members about bonuses, pay gaps and overtime. They are unverified, and Take-Two answered that it rewards staff "through competitive compensation and benefits policies". In October, Rockstar's head of publishing told Bloomberg: "We go where the team goes. So if they want a union, they will have a union." No recognition agreement had been announced by 16 October 2026.

What happens next in the Rockstar union case?

Closing submissions on 17 and 18 November, then a judgment, whose date nobody has given. Until then, both accounts stand as each side's account. The recognition talks run alongside, on their own track. When the judgment comes, this page will report what the tribunal found and how both sides respond.

What changes this: The tribunal's judgment; a settlement between Rockstar and the dismissed staff; a recognition agreement, or an application for statutory recognition; or new hearing dates. Each would be logged here, attributed, with Rockstar's response.